Time to change policy on drug use

IRELAND’S drug-related deaths are the third highest amongst 30 European countries, the Irish Examiner reported yesterday.

Such figures are both saddening and shocking. They are also entirely preventable.

There is a road map drawn by countries that have reduced drug-related deaths that involve introducing a legislative environment that places compassion above condemnation and establishes laws that alleviate stigma, thereby bringing people out of the shadows.

In other words, decriminalisation of drug use.

As recognised in yesterday’s story, the numbers of drug-related deaths in Portugal and Netherlands are far lower than those in Ireland.

The story cited Ireland’s 45 drug-induced deaths per million residents, according the most recent available figures, compared to five in Portugal and six in the Netherlands.

It must be stated that Portugal decriminalised drug possession and use in 2000, including for drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The law no longer treats drug consumption as a criminal offence, thus moving the matter of personal possession entirely out of the realm of law enforcement and into that of public health,

Since this law was introduced drug-related deaths dropped precipitously alongside a steep decline in new transmissions of HIV among people who inject drugs. When the law was introduced in 2000, there were 2,758 newly diagnosed cases of HIV-infected persons, of which 1,430 were drug users (52%). As of Mar 2010, the total number of newly diagnosed cases numbered 1,107, of which 164 were drug users (15%).

Similar figures are reflected in the Netherlands and Czech Republic, which established that possession of quantities below a certain threshold would not result in criminal penalties (though as a misdemeanour could be subject to imposition of fines).

These findings bring to light the simple fact that people will choose to access life-saving services if they are not afraid of engaging with the system.

Many may fear that taking a less restrictive approach to drugs will increase drug use.

However, that does not appear to be the case in any of the above countries.

In fact, the British-based charity, Release, recently published a report comparing countries that decriminalised drugs. It found that these policies do not lead to an increase in drug use in the vast majority of countries where they were introduced.

Naturally, legal reform should not occur in a vacuum. Drug law reform cannot be successful unless accompanied by concrete services. But these interventions are generally inexpensive, easy to implement and produce long-term savings that result from reduced medical costs, such as treatment of blood-borne viruses.

The numbers of drug-related deaths in Ireland are alarming. But like all alarms they alert us to an emergency. And this one requires action.

* Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch is the director of Open Society Foundations global drug policy programme.