Drugs in 2023: "The Irish government continue to stick their heads ostrich-like in the sand"

After six weeks of sessions, the much-vaunted Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs ended in disarray in October with some members claiming it wasn’t clear what they were voting for and others complaining that they’d been presented with either incomplete or biased information.

There was particular disquiet about the voting process, which saw the Ballot 2 motion to legalise all forms of cannabis in Ireland defeated by the narrowest of 38-39 margins.

Taking to social media after the vote, one CA member, Kerry Anne Lawless, said: “I was attempting to point out the hypocrisy of having a very detailed discussion of some drugs while ignoring the huge variability potency of cannabis. I wanted to change the process.”

Claiming that over 15 of her fellow members were “confused about the options”, Lawless had earlier stated: “I approached the Chair and asked for Ballot 2 to be re-run, as did others. There was no interest in even putting it to Assembly members for discussion.”

Summing up her feelings, she said: “Irrespective of the result, this is not deliberative democracy. The process was completely flawed.”

Although portrayed in some circles as “effective decriminalisation”, drugs will continue to fall within the remit of the criminal justice system, with no cooper-fastened guarantees that we won’t see people fined or jailed for personal possession of even small amounts of illicit substances being recommended.

Meanwhile, six years after being approved by cabinet, the wait for Ireland’s first pilot supervised injecting facility (SIF) continues.

The Minister for Drugs, Hildegarde Naughton and her predecessor Frank Feighan will doubtless point to the on-going planning wrangles over the proposed Merchants Quay site, but at least one organisation has made it known that they’re ready, willing and able to open a temporary mobile SIF.

The desperate need for a SIF was underlined in November when at least 57 people overdosed from taking heroin that appears to have been cut with a synthetic opioid, nitazene, which is even stronger than fentanyl.

Dangerous synthetic opioids are likely to become increasingly prevalent as the knock-on effects of the Taliban destroying 90% of the Afghan poppy crop are felt.

Ahead of the likely heroin drought, Superintendent Seamus Boland of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau told the Citizens’ Assembly that, “We are satisfied that Irish criminal networks have been considering the supply of fentanyl into the Irish market. This is a very concerning development… as cartels can add fentanyl to other drugs to increase addiction, thereby increasing customer base leading to greater profits and drugs.”

And still Minister Naughton appears to be doing precious little to get any type of supervised injecting facility up and running.

While the Irish government continue to stick their heads ostrich-like in the sand, Germany looks set to legalise all forms of cannabis in the New Year with the Czech Republic expected to follow suit.

With open borders and freedom of movement, it’s hard to see how other EU countries will be able to maintain their current prohibitionist stances.

For all the latest pharmaceutical goings-on, listen to Stuart Clark On Drugs, the new Hot Press podcast coming soon.

Read The Whole Hog in the Hot Press Annual 2024: