Irish delegation in Portugal to review drug strategy

A delegation from the Oireachtas Justice Committee has travelled to Lisbon in Portugal to review drug prevention strategies there.

Portugal decriminalised the possession of small quantities of drugs and reports indicate that drug abuse has dropped by half since the year 2000.

People found to be in possession of a small amount of drugs are sent to treatment centres instead of being dealt with by the criminal justice system.

Chairman of the Justice Committee, David Stanton, said Portugal's drugs policies work to reduce the demand for drugs, rather than hunting down dealers.

"f you can reduce the demand, the supply gets affected as well. At the end of the day, they're treating this as a health issue, not a criminal justice issue

"They're trying to turn people away at a very early stage … and it seems to be working."