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MY SOCIAL MEDIA feed is dense with discussions about topics like addiction, trauma, connection and recovery. Videos of people like Gabor Maté talk about how our early childhood experiences shape our outcomes in life and how important compassion is in our understanding of the decisions people make in their lives.
This message resonates with me very deeply, and my algorithm knows it. I often ponder about other people who share such clips. Do they realise that we criminalise the people referred to in Ireland in these videos, and if they do realise, do they know we don’t have to? There is another way forward, and all the evidence underpins it.
I know the drug issue intimately, with drug use and addiction having been a feature in my life and my community for as long as I can remember. I have been a drug user myself at different stages in my life, thankfully evading the grasp of dependency, unlike many of my friends, too many of whom have died of drug-related causes. I have studied addiction and developed community-based programmes to support people on the path to recovery.
As a politician, I have analysed drug policy, developed relationships internationally with experts in the field of addiction, and tried to develop legislative solutions to Ireland’s prevailing punitive, prohibitionist approach to addiction. I am an expert in my lived experience and the knowledge I have gathered over 20 years of working in the field. I primarily focus on communities that have been impacted the most by drug use, underpinned by poverty and systematic failures for generations, creating conditions whereby mothers have lost, in some cases, multiple children to drug addiction.
When you hear that harrowing statistic that Ireland has the most drug deaths in Europe, two a day to be precise, just take a moment to think about the very real situation whereby some of us know scores of people who died in this way, whole communities affected. So, while the focus can often be on cannabis regulation in reports about drug use, such as the Joint Committee on Drugs Use this week, notwithstanding that addiction, drug taking and engagement with illicit markets exist across all of society.
With that in mind, I ask the reader to look at this recent report through the lens of poverty and inequality, as the intensity with which communities like mine experience the issues of drug use can often feel like an assault on the soul and the very fabric of our experiences of the world.
It is our young men killing each other, themselves and our loved ones whose days are determined by a rock. If oblivion is the destination for your drug taking, we have to create caring communities and societies that want to know why oblivion is better than reality at that moment. Community development is at the heart of the response to these complex issues. Everyone’s life has worth and value, and we must not allow the criminalisation of people whose value is already questioned by themselves from years of stigma and shame. This committee report and all its recommendations and contributors point in the same direction: care, compassion, understanding and support. Decriminalisation is at the very essence of those things.
When I was first elected to the Seanad in 2016, the concept of the decriminalisation of drug possession was a foreign one to the majority of my colleagues and, indeed, the majority of the Departmental officials I encountered. People regularly looked at me as if I had two heads, and it felt like we had a political mountain to climb to realise a more compassionate, evidence-led response to drug use in Ireland. However, I have since learned that people are open to learning more about an issue and reforming their perspectives on it so long as they are presented with compelling evidence.
Once the evidence is presented on the drugs issue specifically, decriminalisation and the institution of an actual health-led response to addiction becomes a no-brainer; when I say actual, I mean one that completely removes the offence for personal use, that takes section three of the statute books.
The Joint Committee on Drugs Use was formed earlier this year to consider the report and recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. It is an excellent example of evidence-led engagement and policy development. From the outset, the Committee was determined to consider drug use and addiction differently than any other Oireachtas Committee previously, ensuring that we did not simply re-hash old debates and discourse with no predetermined conclusion. My colleagues and I developed a stimulating work programme that saw us incorporate perspectives on drug policy from local and international experts in addiction and recovery, policing, the legal context, research and academia, and public health and community safety. Witnesses ranged from Porto’s Police Commander to locals. Working on the ground. Many witnesses had never before presented to the Oireachtas, the joint Committee treading new ground in considering the drugs issue.
The Committee engaged in robust debate with stakeholders over the first phase of our work programme, with the second phase likely to be interrupted by the looming dissolution of the Dáil. While the Committee contains a diverse political representation and a range of perspectives on drug use, the conclusion we reached in the preparation of our interim report this week is unambiguous: our approach to drug use and addiction in Ireland, in which the drug user is criminalised, shamed and stigmatised, has failed utterly, and we need to pursue an alternative, health-led approach to problem drug use, with the decriminalisation of all drug users at the foundational core. The Committee laid out some 59 holistic recommendations and provided reasoned responses to the 36 recommendations of the Citizen Assembly on Drugs Use. I recommend reading these for a more comprehensive insight into the evidence heard and conclusions reached by the Committee.
For those of us who have spent a long time working to bring drug policy into the 21st century, seeing others reach the same conclusion has been incredibly reassuring and validating. In 2017, when I tabled my first piece of legislation to decriminalise drugs for personal possession, I never thought we would arrive at such a clear consensus. Now, our attention must turn to implementing decriminalisation as a policy through repealing Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The government, this one or the next, must and will be expected to repeal this section and invest heavily in health-led, harm-reduction, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate drug services.
One of the myths that has acted as a barrier to achieving the decriminalisation of people who use drugs is that decriminalisation will increase drug use. There is no longer any reason for policymakers to make such statements, not when so much evidence exists to the contrary, and politicians must familiarise themselves with the evidence when talking about policy that has detrimental impacts on people’s lives, such as the criminalisation of drug use and addiction.
We must also be clear, though, that decriminalisation is not a measure to reduce drug use; it is to reduce the stigma and harm associated with drug use by the criminal justice system.
If you have a dependency issue, it is more than unlikely that police, prison or criminalisation will address that; that is not what the criminal justice system is for. Instead, it compounds it, and I have every faith in services, communities, peers and families with the right resources and structures that can respond to the needs of those who may need intervention in some way.
Even without a dependency issue or need for support, a person caught with a substance and charged under section three of the Drugs Act will have that charge on their record forever; in fact, there is no current way to erase that as it is categorised for vetting purpose alongside murder and other violent crimes. Whether you want to travel to America, volunteer at your kid’s school or soccer team or study social work, you will be vetted and, in most cases, rejected due to the possession charge.
Someone who has studied the research and given much of their life work to ensure that policy is evidence-based and independent is Professor Catherine Comiskey from the School of Nursing in Trinity, who was unequivocal in their contributions to the Committee on Drug Use when she said that there is no relationship between drug laws and the increase or decrease of drug use. For example, we have had prohibition for longer than I have been alive, and all we have seen is an increase in addiction and drug use over those decades; harsher laws do not stop drug use; in fact, I would say from my experience and the endless bodies of evidence prohibition compounds the trauma related to addiction as convictions, jail or stigma related to police stop and search has long-lasting impacts on a person’s life psychologically but also in terms of education, employment and even housing. Knowing this and profoundly understanding it, the Committee recommended the following regarding the legal framework.
The Committee also recommended that healthcare interventions should not be punitive, and this is a very crucial aspect of the conversations when we think about truly making the shift to a more compassionate approach. Forcing someone into healthcare or associating any punitive approaches to healthcare is not only in opposition to a person’s rights but also runs the risk of a negative relationship between care and the person who uses drugs. As a state and society, we must have health options available for people, but the Committee is clear in its calls that that can’t be mandated.
Dr Malinowska-Sempruch and others presented this reality in their comments to the Committee, stating the importance of trusting people who use drugs to take care of themselves when given the right resources. Decriminalisation and harm reduction measures, like providing clean syringes, have proven effective in addressing health issues, such as the HIV epidemic. However, focusing solely on health indicators might neglect broader human rights concerns, leaving individuals feeling their lives are less meaningful. A human rights-based approach is essential, and ensuring we don’t create punitive approaches to healthcare aligns with a rights-based approach. Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, also argued similarly when she said that criminalisation policies cause harm and deter individuals from seeking emergency help and treatment.
Everyone’s intentions, I imagine, are the same: reduce harm. This report calls for the appropriate pathway to reduce that reduction of harm. We as a society are beginning to accept that you can’t police your way out of addiction and its related issues: mental health, poverty, homelessness and stigma. Care, compassion and investment in structures, communities and services are the only ways to create a supportive environment for those who need it. In removing the label and implications of ‘criminal’ from a person who uses drugs, we can create the space to address the environmental conditions needed to improve the conditions of a person’s world.
You can read the Joint Oireachtas Committee Interim report here.
Lynn Ruane is an independent senator.
Another taxpayer funded waster, it’s such a pity that expensive talking shop wasn’t abolished
@Jock Doyle: please explain that to me . Your throw away comment with no evidence or reasoning behind it , is a poor way to start your side of an argument.
@David Fox: non elected, a room full of wafflers, talking nonsense and getting paid for it courtesy of real working people
@Jock Doyle: isn’t that government puppet, Paul Reid ( €400K + HSE spoofer) , running the talking shop???
@Frank Mc Carthy: another bollox
@Jock Doyle: ” spoofer” is the correct term
@Frank Mc Carthy: no hes not..
@Jock Doyle: she talks a lot of sense, unlike yourself. Only problem is, who’s listening?
@Kevin Kerr: do ye trolls / stalkers get any break of a bank holiday weekend??
@Jock Doyle: Define ‘real working people’ and also ‘fake working people’?
@Jock Doyle: the criminalisation approach is a “tax payer funded waster” and the money from drugs all goes to crime. But sure let’s keep lining the kinehans pockets and putting kids in jail for nothing while violent sociopaths walk free.
@Jock Doyle: sure look at the barbie kardashin case in court the other day, trans male to female prisoner, threated to harm both a female prisoner and female prison officer, used the term rape , freely admitted this in court and the jury found them not guilty, yes lets makenit easier for criminals to get away with crime
The people giving out about because they don’t like the Seanad should actually read this article and the report it describes, because it has the potential to change our country for the better, to save lives and communities, and to prevent so much unnecessary pain and suffering. We all owe it to ourselves to support this.
@mani mus: And many young males have a tendency to drive faster than is safe for them and other people. Should we decriminalise speeding etc. ?
@thomas molloy: can you present a solid, evidence-based argument showing that prohibition of speeding has failed, and decriminalisation would lead to better outcomes? If so, write your report and let’s see it. If not, you’re not adding anything useful to this discussion.
@mani mus: Decriminalisation would kill and maim more drivers and other people and traumatise more families.
@mani mus: BS!
@mani mus: Do you think they have the attention span ??
Ludicrous article,as you’d expect from this author! The idea of locking up criminals is primarily to protect wider society, by acting as a deterrent while also taking the offender off the streets for a period of time. Whether it’s off any ‘benefit’ to the perpetrator is way down the list of concerns, frankly who cares? Prison is a punishment, not a focus group or rehab centre!
@Jonn: well, if you decriminalise, they won’t be criminals, so you won’t need to lock them up. The question you need to ask yourself is, why? Why would people who are at least as intelligent as you, and who have spent years studying the whole issue of drugs, conclude that criminalising drug use has failed, and makes things worse for everyone in society?
@Jonn: you are clearly far removed from the issues around drug use and drug addiction..
@Stiles:
Ask any business owner or shop owner in the inner city who’s on the front line of dealing with drug users hassling and intimidating staff,stealing,hassling customers, drug paraphernalia lying around on streets etc etc if they think the current ‘turn a blind eye’ soft policing approach is working..for anybody,including drug users..and we both know what the answer would be!
@Jonn: so it’s all right to get blind drunk in a pub after all it’s socially acceptable to buy drink it puts money into the government coffers? Drink causes as much if not more harm than drugs. I seen an interview with a US Sheriff he said that in over 20 yrs he’d never been called to a domestic involving cannabis but he’d lost count on the amount involving alcohol. Coke is readily available in every town in Ireland, it’s as easy to get as a takeaway pizza. Heroin is also easy to get aswell. Addiction is a terrible thing , like blindly believing what your told without looking into it yourself. Portugal has seen a decrease in street crime since it set up its programme, I’m not saying it suits every addict but it dies the majority & hopefully either a bit of compassion , we will do the same
@Peter James Carroll: but think about that difference between the alcohol being legal and the cannabis not being…
@Jonn: You somehow managed to completely miss the point of the article in your rush to peddle your outdated and inaccurate views. The evidence is so overwhelming now that the debate has moved on. The current laws, by your own admission, have failed. It’s about time we base our laws on evidenced based research and proven experience. Your inability to accept reality is prolonging the harm and creating the scenario you claim to want to fix. You can’t have it both ways. Please catch up or get out of the way.
@Jonn: you just described our current broken system… criminalising people for drugs has achieved nothing.. its made the problem worse.. if you can’t see that then I don’t know what else to say to ya. youre entitled to your opinion even if it is wrong.. have a good weekend..
@Jonn: they used to lock up men for being gay too.
The only safe way for an addict to deal with drugs is not take drugs. Because a substance is legal for personal use doesn’t mean that deaths with stop. The author tells us the “evidence says otherwise” yet and I may be mistake there is not one link posted to show that evidence. I worked for 13 years in the field, am in recovery myself. I have met literally thousands of addicts over the last 20 years. Those that use have an unmanageability about their life’s that is not good for anyone why advocate for such unhappiness?
@Mick O’K: quite right. Time to ban booze. Addicts just can’t help themselves. Lock up the wine drinkers and grape growers.
@Mick O’K: she posted the link to the oireachtas report on the same link you can find all the recordings of the oireachtas committee on drugs public meetings where experts from around the world were brought in to give evidence. theres so many incorrect issues with your comment it shows no matter what your experience is you too are wrong. if you really wanted harm reduction you’d be onboard with decriminalisation. absolutely nothing is achieved with prohibition.
Boredom can function like a gateway drug for addictions. It’s one of the unintended consequences of our welfare cash system. Importing of almost all factory produced products from abroad is a cause of unemployment amongst ordinary people and they become idle with cash.
@thomas molloy: if you want people working, you must be in favour of decriminalisation – a drugs conviction doesn’t exactly help you find a job. Then, maybe the money we could save from ending wasteful, failed prohibition policies could be reinvested in the kind of disadvantaged communities you’re worried about. Educate and support people to build meaningful, productive lives for themselves.
@mani mus: Prevention is best.
Joint Committee on Drugs….reporting on Cannibas usage….anyone else see the joke there :)
Drug use – decriminalised or not – brings drug dealers. All this element care about is money and you only have to look at their tactics to see the mayhem opening the doors will cause. As for a possession conviction stopping you getting a visa – the US Australia etc don’t want drug users coming to their country so like it or lump it…..don’t get a possession charge. And I sure as hell don’t want a habitual drug user running my kids youth club or teaching them so they should be vetted and possession of drugs should be on their record (although with the prevalence of coke and weed these days I conceded it’s already highly likely to be happening). I grew up in a similar area to the author but disagree fundamentally with her stance here.
@Niall Whyte: drug dealers like Heineken and Diageo?
@Niall Whyte: it’s not her stance it’s the whole oireachtas committees stance. they worked from a report from a citizen assembly who worked from a report from a earlier oireachtas committee.. all arriving at the same conclusion
you didn’t even read the article, easier to jump to the drugs are bad BS. the conclusion the that decriminalisation is going to reduce harm came from facts..you can have your own opinion but you can’t have your own facts.. open your mind to the fact that decriminalisation / regulation are not an endorsement to take drugs.. its an attempt to reduce the harm caused by them.. and for you to insinuate that all people who use drugs are bad and shouldn’t be around kids while ignoring alcohol is sold in most GAA/sports clubhouses is funny.. you’re completely ignorant on this topic.. no matter how many reassuring thumbs up you get..
No country has found an answer to the problem so don’t expect Ireland to do so.
@JP: it’s not about solving the problem, it’s about making the harm as small as possible.
@JP: There are no complete solutions in any aspect of the human mess, but we are supposed to ‘try’ and minimise the problems. Imo Irish people aren’t psychologically ready for trying anything in the realm of change. Currently we can even tie our laces, let along run the race.
@JP: Let’s never try then. Ok
Anybody unfortunate enough to end up depending on drugs to get them through life, a path we all travel, should most definitely be helped by our society, the current government of the day etc…… while those caught in the control of, transporting of, selling of and the profiting of drug (death) dealing, it’s those that should be given severe sentences, none of the suspended or over lenient small sentences we continue to see. Severe sentences would and should act as a deterrent, keeping them off our streets and in some part saving our communities from being further ravaged and destroyed by illegal drugs and those that carry it out! STOP making it so complicated, it’s not rocket science! What we need is a government and a society to tackle drugs head without all the bluster!
@Niall Binéad: Reading recent headlines the Govt courtesy of the Gardai are making big inroads into the dealing etc. Admittedly more needs to and will be done… there’s no ‘Blustering’ actions speak for themselves. It’s a BIG problem and HIGHLY organised not too easy the world over. Going by your comment anyone would think it’s easy and only here in Ireland and of course the Government’s fault.
George and Lynn
Thanks for letting me through to do my job last week miss Lynn white van man ,
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y5ll3ler7o.amp
Use up to date stats
Lynn, (there’s a bandwagon) says it all really.
Lets get down with the kids ‘gino’, and be “cool”.
We can stay relevant, by undermining Law and order.
Addicts need help in the form of rehab, not by decriminalising illegal drugs.
@Ed Brennan: Ed, ‘Rehab’ itself is a load of BS for a lot of people. Drug use has no place in the Legal system.
It is high time ( no pun intended) to legalise the growing of cannabis for personal use. The issue of opiates and other major drugs needs a health led treatment approach. If the money is taken away from criminal gangs society will benefit.
This needs to be supported and any with concerns or even possible fundamental disagreements on it should voice them constructively. Not only does all well researched scientific evidence support what Senator Ruane is saying but proof of the pudding is available through the lived experiences and empirical evidence which Portugal has provided through its brave move in its legislation on drugs. We must follow the proof and facts rather than our blind biases.
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