Senators meet to discuss drug decriminalisation for personal use in Ireland

Possession of drugs for personal use made up 72% of all 2017 drugs offences.

A number of senators, politicians and the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign met on Monday morning 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. Anna Quigley, CityWide’s Coordinator, explained at the briefing that recently released figures showed that in 2017 there were 12,211 recorded offences for possession of drugs for personal use in Ireland. “This figure represents 72% of all drugs offences for that year," Quigley began. "Significant state resources are tied up in dealing with such offences including police time, legal fees, court time and that of the DPP’s Office. Most people would agree that this money and time could be put to better use in providing health and social services to those using drugs and in following up serious criminal gangs who are engaging in violence and intimidation. “A change in the law will also be a step in reducing the criminalisation and stigmatisation of our most disadvantaged communities and addressing the serious economic and social issues that lead to the devastating impact of drug use and the drugs trade.” Given this context, Quigley will said that CityWide are delighted to see how much the public is engaging with the issue of how as a society we best address the issue of drug use. “The evidence shows that our current approach of criminalising people for possession of drugs does not reduce the overall levels of drug use in society, but what it does do is increase the difficulties and challenges for a person who is trying to address his/her drug use. "The Government recognises the evidence that the health and social outcomes for individuals who use drugs are improved by addressing them through the health system rather than the criminal justice system and has committed to a health-led approach in delivering the National Drugs Strategy 2017-2025.” [caption id="attachment_630849" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image cred: @patmontague[/caption] The call to decriminalise drugs for personal use has been echoed throughout the media as of late with cases like Ava Twomey and Billy Caldwell making the news. Twomey suffers from the debilitating condition, Dravet's Syndrome, a form of epilepsy, which sees the eight-year-old suffer multiple harmful seizures throughout the day. Her mother, Vera, made headlines last year when she campaigned tirelessly for the right for her child to acquire medicinal cannabis. Tyrone schoolboy Billy Caldwell's story become known after he had his medicinal cannabis confiscated at Heathrow Airport earlier this year. He also suffers from a severe form of epilepsy, and although he'd gone nearly a year without a seizure prior to this, Caldwell experienced five seizures in less than a week after being denied the cannabis oil he uses to treat the condition. The drugs crisis campaign expressed that their experience of debating the issue in their communities over the last few years has seen the vast majority of objections to decriminalisation arise as a result of confusing it with legalisation. “What decriminalisation means is that a person found in possession of drugs for personal use will no longer be treated as a criminal or given a criminal conviction and will instead be referred to health and social services." "This is not the same as legalisation, as the drugs trade remains illegal and subject to all of the criminal laws that currently apply and no drug that is currently illegal will be made legal,” Quigley concluded. The group had previously asked members of the public to submit messages to the Department of Health’s Working Group on Alternative Approaches to possession of drugs for personal use. Due to unprecedented interest from the public, with over 14,000 submissions received to date, the Department of Health has announced an extension of the deadline from 30 June to 13 July for receipt of submissions to the Working Group. Earlier this year, the Green Party called for the decriminalisation of cannabis arguing that current legislation has "made criminals out of decent people." In its proposed policy, the party has requested that it no longer be classed as a criminal offence if a person over the age of 18 is in possession of less than five grams of cannabis.