Addicts should be legally allowed to bring their own heroin to State-sanctioned injection centres, drugs minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has indicated.
Mr Ó Ríordáin hopes to sweep away the legal obstacle to the centres within months, with “safe spaces” opening in Cork and other cities if an initial Dublin venue proves a success.
The minister said Ireland needs to undergo a “cultural shift” in its attitudes towards drugs and stop viewing users as criminals.
Mr Ó Ríordáin, who is in favour of decriminalising all drugs, said it is “insanity” to treat someone injecting on the street as a criminal.
The minister expects legal obstacles to allowing addicts to inject illegal drugs in “safe centres” to be cleared by the end of the year before the process of setting-up the first project starts. An indemnity would be needed in case of deaths due to contaminated drugs being taken on the premises.
Cabinet approval is being sought by the minister for the idea of a medically supervised injection centre, and Mr Ó Ríordáin said it could be the case users bring their own heroin with them, rather than be provided with a heroin substitute.
Source: Shaun Connolly, Irish Examiner, 31/08/15
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