Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
IRELAND SHOULD DECRIMINALISE or legalise drugs for personal use in order to save lives, the Oireachtas Drugs Use Committee has been told.
The committee is today discussing different approaches to drug use, and what Ireland can learn from other countries.
Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release – a UK charity that focuses on drug laws, told the committee that policies which criminalise drug use are “literally killing people”.
She said the “chilling effect of criminalisation” on people’s health was highlighted in recent research by the UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute which found that nearly one in five students did not seek emergency help when they found themselves “in a scary situation with drugs, for fear of punishment”.
Eastwood said other research shows that half of people who died in opioid-related deaths in England and Wales had not been in contact with treatment services for at least five years prior to their death.
“I would argue there are many reasons for this. But one is that when you define people as criminals, first and foremost, they are unlikely to come forward and seek support, whether that be emergency health or whether it be treatment for dependency.
“So in our view, the policies that we currently enact through the criminal legal system are literally killing people.”
Ireland vs Portugal
Ireland has the highest rate of drug deaths among EU member states, according to a report released earlier this month.
The European Drug Report 2024 shows that Ireland had 322 drug-induced deaths in 2020, the most recently available figures. That’s 97 deaths per million people, compared with the EU average of 22.5 deaths per one million people.
Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release Oireachtas.ie
Oireachtas.ie
Eastwood told the committee: “Every country in Europe that has ended criminal sanctions for drug possession has significantly lowered drug-related death rates, and those countries in the region that adopt a criminal justice response have the highest rates.
“This includes Ireland who, as you know, has the highest rate of deaths unfortunately amongst EU member states at 92 per million of the population, 10 times higher than Portugal.”
Advertisement
Eastwood said Portugal, which decriminalised personal drug use in 2001, is probably the “best researched” country in terms of the impact of decriminalisation.
In the last 23 years, she said Portugal has “experienced significant decreases in HIV transmission rates, a 40% reduction in injecting drug use, and a 62% increase in the number of people accessing treatments”.
Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward, who has expereince working in addiction services, said Ireland could bring in decriminalisation tomorrow but it wouldn’t work without greater investment in health, recovery and community services.
Ward said many vital services are currently “scrimping and and saving just to supply the most basic services to vulnerable people”.
“At the moment, as we stand now, Ireland doesn’t have the resources available to addiction recovery services out there for the people… How do we square that circle?”
Decriminalisation vs legalisation
The newly-formed Oireachtas committee, which is tasked with examining how to overhaul Ireland’s approach to drugs, is holding its third meeting today.
The committee was set up to examine the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly (CA) on Drugs Use which has said the State should take a comprehensive health-led policy response to dealing with people who are in possession of drugs for personal use.
Among its 36 recommendations is a proposal that people should be referred to health and addiction services where appropriate, rather than criminalised.
The CA’s vote last year related to the possession of cannabis was the tightest – 39 people at the assembly opted for a health-led approach on the final count, while 38 opted for legalisation and regulation of cannabis.
Legalisation is the process whereby the importation, sale, purchase and use of drugs is regulated by the State in the same way as alcohol and tobacco.
Whereas a decriminalisation model would mean that drugs would remain illegal, but a person found in possession of drugs for personal use would not receive a criminal sanction.
Alex Stevens, a professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Kent and former member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, also addressed the committee today.
Stevens said that international evidence to date indicates that reducing penalties for drug possession “does not necessarily lead to an increase in use.”
“It is therefore a net positive, as it reduces the harms and costs of criminalisation,
while not increasing the harms of drug use,” he said.
Related Reads
Record 13,104 cases treated for problem drug use amid jump in cocaine use, especially among women
Senator on helping woman who was likely overdosing: 'No one wanted to help, it was really horrible'
More people will die if there are further delays to reforming drug approach, Paul Reid warns
“With legalisation, there is trade-off to be had between reducing the size of the illicit market by allowing a larger and more commercial legal market, or restricting the size of the legal market through tight regulation, and so leaving much of the illicit market in place.”
‘War on drugs has failed’
Ruby Lawlor, from the international organisation Youth Rise, told the committee the global “war on drugs” has clearly failed.
These policies have not protected young people, and they have made them vulnerable to receiving criminal records, criminal sanctions and being incarcerated.
Lawlor said young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are most affected by these policies and “disproportionately stopped and searched by the gardaí, despite drug use being prevalent across all socio-wconomic backgrounds”.
“Young people in these communities and those who have been in contact with the criminal justice system report greater distrust in the gardaí, a body that is also meant to protect young people from marginalised communities.”
Ruby Lawlor, from the international organisation Youth Rise Oireachtas.ie
Oireachtas.ie
Lawlor said the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, which aims to prevent people under 18 involved in anti-social behaviour from committing further offences and entering into the adult criminal justice system, has seen many positive results in terms of people not reoffending.
However, she believes more needs to be done.
Diversion does not tackle the root causes and is not sufficient to truly protect young people from the harms of current drug policies, and we must go further.
Lawlor noted that the recent spike in overdoses from nitazenes in Ireland shows the risks posed by an unregulated drug market.
She is in favour of full legalisation, where personal drug use and possession would be legalised and the sale of drugs would be regulated.
When asked how this could work in practice, she said people could buy certain drugs in pharmacies.
Lawlor said: “In Ireland, we are experiencing an overdose crisis due to nitazenes in the drug supply.
“And, as seen across the pond with the devastating impact of unregulated drug markets in the USA and Canada, the heavier we prohibit and criminalise drugs and their use, the more potent drugs seep into the market, the more accessible drugs are to young people.”
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Zelenskyy leaves White House summit after Trump claims he's 'not ready for peace'
Updated
48 mins ago
39.9k
227
Rome
Pope Francis put on mechanical ventilation, as prognosis remains 'guarded'
Updated
44 mins ago
15.8k
New Mexico
Police 'keeping everything on the table' in deaths of Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa
Updated
21 hrs ago
104k
78
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 153 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 105 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 137 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 38 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 34 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 39 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 87 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 97 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 69 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 51 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 85 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 65 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say