Drug users ‘need treatment,not prison’

A group that works with marginalised young men has said that the Portuguese model of not criminalising people for possessing drugs would have a “positive impact”, especially for those trying to overcome their addiction.

Churchfield Community Trust in Cork City told the Oireachtas Justice Committee that a lot of the time the young men they work with — many ex-offenders — “need treatment rather than another sentence”.

The Oireachtas Justice Committee is currently conducting an examination of the Portuguese model following a three-day visit to Lisbon last month to see first-hand how it operated.