A rally took place in Guildhall Square, Derry, on Saturday. Organiser Pauline Duddy addressed the crowd. She has campaigned for stricter sentences for drug dealers since her daughter Jasmin died four years ago at age 21.

Relatives of other families who lost loved ones to drugs attended. They displayed banners with images of the deceased.

Pauline Duddy stated that the group gathered in grief, not anger. She noted that many young people in Northern Ireland have died from drugs. Dealers face low risks and high profits, she said.

Duddy claimed authorities know the drug peddlers but ignore them. She said drug deaths cause the same heartache as road accidents or domestic violence.

She urged the government to introduce deterrents to prevent reoffending. Dealers receive light court penalties and continue their activities, Duddy said. This outcome insults families, she added. She pledged to continue pressing for change.

Derry City and Strabane District Council Mayor Ruairí McHugh spoke at the event. He said too many young lives in the city have been lost to illegal drugs.

McHugh stated no parent should bury a child due to someone prioritising profit over life. He said illegal drugs destroy users, tear apart families, damage communities, and fuel addiction, violence, and exploitation. Penalties for profiting from this harm often fail to match the damage caused, he added.