Features/Drugs: 18 Apr 2017
The Hot Press Newsdesk

The Government to float the idea of drug decriminalisation in Ireland

Hot Press understands there's strong ministerial support for adopting the Portuguese model...

The Minister of State for Drugs, Catherine Byrne, is expected to suggest decriminalisation as a policy option in the new National Drug Strategy, which will be released during the summer.

Hot Press has learned from government sources that there’s strong cabinet support for adopting the Portuguese model, which the Justice Committee of the Oireachtas travelled to Lisbon to examine in 2015.

2001 saw the wholesale liberalisation of Portuguese drug laws, which are therapy-based rather than punitive, with people caught for personal possession being brought in front of a commission comprising of a social worker, a psychiatrist and a lawyer. As a result, drug abuse there has been significantly reduced.

“It’s seeing the drug abuser as a person, dealing with the realities of this person’s habits and finding a more realistic approach to dealing with it,” her predecessor, Aodhán O Ríordáin told us at the time. “It doesn’t mean that you send somebody merrily on their way, but it does mean that you’re not dealing with somebody through the criminal justice system, which to me makes an awful lot more sense.

“If somebody has an addiction I don’t think dealing with that person through the criminal justice system is doing anybody any favours," he continued. "It’s a medical issue, it's a medical need. If you look at the bare facts, 70% of those who have been convicted of drug offences are people who have been caught in possession of drugs for their own personal use. What a complete waste of Garda time! What a complete waste of court time! Why are we doing that? If you see somebody shooting up down an alleyway, do you really see them as a criminal or somebody who’s in chronic need of medical care? I think most people would make the logical determination that this person is in need of medical care. This person does not need intervention from a gard or the court system.”

On their return from Lisbon, the Justice Committee issued a statement saying that they “strongly recommend the introduction of a harm reducing and rehabilitative approach, whereby the possession of a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use, could be dealt with by way of a civil/ administrative response and rather than via the criminal justice route.”

Responding to today's news, Tony Duffin, the Director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project who've briefed successive ministers, says: "Ireland is fast becoming recognised by international policy experts as a country that is taking steps to deal in a mature fashion with drug use, and our politicians are to be commended for that. The move towards decriminalisation of possession for personal use is another good example of Ireland being willing to consider what works in other jurisdictions. As with any policy shift, the devil is in the detail – thought needs to be given to what will work best for us, and this is not something which can happen today or tomorrow. However, I do think that it will happen. National policy is in line with all the international evidence insofar as it frames drug use as a health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue. At the moment, we have the problematic situation where in order to seek help for the health issue of drug use, you are automatically self-identifying as a criminal. This is simply unhelpful, stigmatising and needs to change.

“I think communication will be important," Duffin continues. "There can be a tendency to conflate decriminalisation with legalisation, which is totally inaccurate and needs to be addressed. All we’re saying is that instead of possession for personal use being a crime, it would be dealt with as a health issue. This is much less stigmatising and supportive and provides a better mechanism to address drug using behaviour. I think that’s something that will resonate with people. At the moment, if you’re a parent and your daughter smokes a joint or takes a pill, society’s response is to say that she’s a criminal and you’re the parent of a criminal. How is that helpful?”

Personal possession in Portugal is defined as having no more than a ten-day supply of a particular proscribed substance, whether it be cannabis or harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.

In a conversation last week, a Fine Gael TD who declined to be named told Hot Press that decriminalisation has become a hot topic within the party, and has considerable ministerial support.