Front Lines: Nothing but the Same Old Story

We’ve conducted extensive, open and honest interviews in the past with his predecessors, Eoin Ryan and Pat Carey – who recommended that one of our Hot Press Special Drug Issues be made available to schools as a harm reduction tool.

So we were naturally hugely disappointed when – in preparation for our latest Special Drugs Issue – the current Minister for Drugs, Alex White, declined our request for a face-to-face sit-down and asked us instead to submit written questions.
Since taking office in March 2011, the Fine Gael-Labour coalition has kept its head firmly beneath the parapet in terms of making any serious effort to address the effectiveness of Ireland’s drug policies. Meanwhile, a number of Irish doctors have bemoaned the lack of fresh thinking here – which is in stark contrast to developments in the US and the UK, where Barack Obama and Nick Clegg respectively, with their questioning of the prohibition model, have ensured that there is a genuine debate taking place on drugs policies.
In the event, as you will see below, Hot Press presented Minister White with some very straightforward, written questions arising from the publication of the Global Drugs Survey 2014. Among them was the simple query: “Have you smoked cannabis yourself?”. We also asked: “Do you consider cannabis to be a gateway drug?” and “Has there been any formal contact with the authorities in Colorado where marijuana has been legalised?”
For reasons that are unclear, the Minister elected not to answer these, or any of our other questions, instead issuing a bland re-statement of the obvious. Hot Press has no axe to grind with Alex White. However, his refusal in particular to answer the direct question about whether or not he has ever smoked cannabis has to be seen as hopelessly evasive. What’s more, the question will not go away. Because we are now asking it again, only this time publically: has Minister White ever smoked cannabis?
More than ever, with the toxic truth emerging about certain Gardaí inducing young Irish citizens into committing drug crimes, it represents an insult to the tens of thousands of Irish people whose lives have been affected by the criminalisation of drugs that the Minister prefers to hide behind his bureaucrats rather than openly and honestly addressing the issues.
Below is the full list of questions we asked Minister White. Respectfully, we repeat our request for the opportunity to sit down and ask these – and other relevant questions – of him, directly and in person...

The Questions We Asked
• What is the Minister’s reaction to the fact that 83% of Irish respondents found to be in possession of small amounts of cannabis by the Gardaí say they were let off without a caution? Does he agree with this informal decriminalisation or should convictions be pursued in all cases?
• Has the Minister monitored the legalisation of recreational marijuana in Colorado, and what are his thoughts on the estimated $40m per annum in drug taxation going directly to the State School System? Has there been any formal contact with the authorities there?
• Does he feel the Irish government is out of step on the issue of marijuana legalisation when President Obama has just taken it off the US list of the most dangerous drugs and believes it “to be no more dangerous than alcohol?” Would he agree with that assertion?
• Does the Minister consider cannabis to be a ‘gateway’ drug?
• Did he ever smoke cannabis himself?
• Despite being banned in Ireland in 2010 by then Health Minister Mary Harney, former head shop drugs like mephedrone, 2CI and synthetic cannabis are still readily available. Has prohibition merely driven them onto the illegal market?
• What is the Minister’s reaction to the fact that one in 25 of people have experienced violence whilst buying drugs? Does he accept that this makes a very strong case for regulation?
• 48% of Irish respondents say they would be far quicker to seek health advice if drugs were legalised. Again, does the Minister accept this makes a strong case for legalisation or regulation?
• 41% of respondents say their illicit drug use would decrease if a new, safer, government-approved drug came onto the market here. Is this an avenue worth exploring?
• One of the common threads of the survey is consumer concern over the quality and purity of drugs – and the willingness to pay more for both. Is the Minister concerned about the contamination of illegal drugs and what steps does he feel can be taken to minimise it?
• 2.6% of respondents use medically-prescribed codeine to get high, 3.1% do the same with benzodiazepines and 1.6% with tramadol. An overall 47% of users of these drugs say they weren’t warned of their addictive potential by their doctor and 78% say it was always possible to get a repeat prescription within seven days. What is the Minister’s reaction to these figures?

The Minister’s Statement
“The National Drugs Strategy sets out to develop data sources and research on the extent and nature of drug misuse in Ireland with a view to having an informed, evidence-based approach to the on-going development of drugs policy in Ireland.     
“The National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol, with their colleagues in Northern Ireland, have undertaken three all-island Drug Prevalence Surveys, the latest in 2010/11 and are due to carry out a further survey in 2014/2015. These surveys have established the national prevalence of drug use among the general population, given insights on the spread of drug use by region, and provided more detailed information on the use of particular drugs in the general population. The survey methodology is based on best practice guidelines drawn up the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and is designed to maximise the representativeness of the general population.      
“In the case of the Global Drug Survey 2014, the respondents were self-nominating, in their 20s and 30s and well educated, and consequently the survey is not representative of the general population. The survey authors note that the likely representativeness and precise composition of the samples from the different countries varied significantly in a number of ways. For this reason, the results should be treated with caution.
“My Department continues to monitor the situation in other European countries and internationally regarding approaches adopted to tackle the drug problem, including developments in those jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalised.   
“There is a body of clinical evidence which demonstrates that cannabis misuse is detrimental to health, and significant physical and mental health risks are particularly associated with long-term and/or heavy use of cannabis and usage, in particular, by young people.
“It remains the position that internationally cannabis is recognised as a dangerous substance and subject to international control under United Nations Conventions. In Ireland, cannabis is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and its cultivation, supply and possession are unlawful. The Government’s position regarding control on cannabis is in line with UN Conventions and international law.”