Senator Ruane Welcomes Publication of Report Calling for Decriminalisation of Drug Users

Senator Ruane Welcomes Publication of Report Calling for Decriminalisation of Drug Users

Senator Lynn Ruane welcomes the publication of an interim report from the Joint Oireachtas
Committee on Drug Use detailing the Committee’s consideration of the recommendations of the
Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, alongside providing a suite of progressive recommendations
which calls on the Government to transform its response to drug use and addiction.

 

The Committee has called for a transformative shift in Irish drug policy, underpinned by a core
recommendation calling for the decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use, through
the repeal of Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The report builds on the momentum of
the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which called resolutely for the
decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use, and provides a clear message to
Government that the status quo response to drug use and addiction has failed and needs to be
entirely re-written.

 

Speaking after the report’s publication, Senator Ruane reflected: “When I tabled my first Bill to
decriminalise personal drug possession in 2017, it felt like we had a mountain to climb politically
to realise a more compassionate, evidence-led response to drug use in Ireland. It has been an
incredibly fulfilling and validating experience to hear expert stakeholders talk about drug use
and addiction in such a compassionate, humane and reasonable way over the course of the
Committee’s work programme.”

 

Continuing, Senator Ruane advised: “Once policymakers sit in a room together and listen to the
evidence and expert testimony on addiction and drug use, the outcome generally tends to be
the same: decriminalisation, and the institution of a true health-led response to addiction, is a
no-brainer.” Alongside calling for the decriminalisation of possession for personal use, the
Committee additionally recommended a suite of measures to address addiction in an holistic
way, placing all of the person at the centre of the response, not just their addiction.

 

The Committee has heard throughout its work that the current approach to addiction and drug
use in Ireland has the effect of shaming and stigmatising drug users and the communities they
come from. The data demonstrates that addiction, and its worst effects, are felt most acutely in
communities that are deprived and impoverished. This is why we need to have an holistic
overview of addiction, which sees the person in the context of their environment and helps
individuals and communities to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

 

With the prospect of an election on the immediate horizon, it was critical for the Committee to
publish a summary of its consideration alongside a range of interim recommendations. The
Committee will dissolve alongside the Dáil once a general election is announced, and it will be
within the gift of the next Government to decide whether to reconvene the Committee. The
report and its recommendations will now be sent to the Government to take action on.

 

While some of the recommendations will require a legislative footing, many actions can be taken
immediately by the Department’s concerned, namely the Department of Justice and Department
of Health. Prohibition has contributed to burgeoning levels of drug use and addiction in Ireland,
and our alarmingly high rate of drug related death, and immediate intervention is required to
reverse these concerning trends.