‘Less than 5%’ of drug convictions result in prison term

LESS than 5% of all convictions for drug-related offences result in a prison sentence, according to a new book.

Of the 10,000 drug offences on average each year, little more than 300 end in a jail term.

In his book The Irish War on Drugs, the Seductive Folly of Prohibition, Paul O’Mahony said the vast majority of cases were treated relatively leniently.