Nolan believes that it's time to overhaul Ireland's drug laws.
In what is being considered a landmark interview in the most recent edition of Hot Press, retired Assistant Garda Commissioner, Jack Nolan, says that he’s in favour of decriminalising people found in possession of drugs for personal use.
Nolan explained that he believes the current approach to drug policy in Ireland is criminalising young people and minimising their life chances.
“The person at the end of the food chain, who suffers on the street, has been somewhat forgotten about,” reflects the 40-year veteran of the force.
“Using the criminal court and the law enforcement model for the people unfortunate enough to have become addicted to drugs is probably not the best approach… We’ve had 41 years of the Misuse of Drugs Act; it’s time now to look at different options.”
It’s unlikely that Jack Nolan’s highlighting of decriminalisation will have gone unnoticed by his former Garda colleagues or the State Working Group, chaired by Mr. Justice Garrett Sheehan, who later this year will deliver their report on future drug policy to the Minister of State, Catherine Byrne TD.
“Seeing somebody die down a laneway isn’t something that should be allowed to happen in a modern democratic society,” continues Nolan who’s travelled twice to Lisbon this year to study the Portuguese decriminalisation model – and was impressed by what he saw.
“I met some highly experienced people from the health rehabilitation side who talked about there being around 100,000 addicts in 2001 and that now being reduced down to about 50,000, which is still a huge number, but very much in the right direction.
“I met Municipal Police officers who’d been serving prior to decriminalisation in 2001, and only heard positive comments in relation to how the matter is dealt with.”
Nolan also highlights the failure of current Irish drug policy to prevent one of the highest drug overdose rates in the world.
“The conversation about deaths from drugs needs to be raised to another level,” he maintains – and how young lives are being blighted by unnecessary convictions."
Nolan who headed up policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Regional before his retirement and who currently sits on the Ana Liffey Drug Project board believes that the issue is far more complex than people believe it to be.
“There are opportunities in the debate that’s now commencing in this country to decriminalise possession of smaller amounts of drugs rather than impacting on the life chances of somebody from an employment or travel perspective,” he states.
Just last week, a number of senators and politicians, as well as the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign met for a press conference to urge members of the public to show their support for the
decriminalisation of people in possession of drugs for personal use.
The event included speakers such as Fr Peter McVerry, Senators Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Lynn Ruane and Ana Liffey Drug Project’s Marcus Keane.
All speakers stressed that the current status ties up valuable resources that could be used to tackle criminal gangs.
Nolan's full interview is in the new issue of Hot Press, out on Thursday 5 July.
