The Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is considering decriminalising heroin, cocaine and cannabis. In other words, possessing small amounts for personal use will no longer be an offence.
Recently the Justice, Defence and Equality committee heard evidence from various stakeholders on this issue. A number of groups working in the frontline gave evidence. Most were in favour of the measure and Portugal was held up as the model we should aspire to.
Two psychiatrist colleagues working at the coal face of the drug problem are Dr. Eamonn Keenan and Dr. Gerry McCarney, and they gave important evidence to the Committee as representative of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association.
The background to this proposal is that there has been a huge escalation in our national drug problem. This suggests that the current policies are not working. The view is that if the criminal element were removed by making drugs legally available, then the gangland disputes and murders that are now rampant would be greatly reduced. Yet this is not exclusively an Irish or even a European problem, but an international one.
So, the argument goes that in order to reduce drug-related crime, we should remove criminal penalties for using the drugs mentioned above while penalising those distributing or selling these substances.
Portugal is the model that is cited for this experiment. There, in 2001 there was a change of policy and drugs were decriminalised. Anybody in possession of them is given a small fine and sent to a drug treatment service. They have invested heavily in such facilities and those who abuse drugs are regarded as needing healthcare rather than punishment. The question is, does decriminalisation work for addicts and for society?
Source: Patricia Casey, Irish Independent, 01/12/15
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