Politicians 'must show courage to oversee decriminalisation of drugs'

Chairperson Paul Reid speaking at The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use at Dublin Castle. Picture date: Saturday May 13, 2023.

Politicians will need to show courage and leadership to oversee ‘effective decriminalisation’ in the biggest shakeup of Irelands drug laws in the history of the state.

Paul Reid, the chairman of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use told the Irish Examiner that the assembly report published on Thursday recommends a “decriminalised” model for anyone caught in possession of drugs for personal use, while still keeping possession illegal under the law.

Mr Reid said the assembly report was leaving the complicated legislative issues — on how to make effective decriminalisation legally possible — to the Oireachtas to tease out.

The assembly report coincides with a major EU study on the heroin market which warns that the almost complete collapse in opium production in Afghanistan last year could be filled by highly dangerous synthetic opiates, with “significant negative impacts on public health and security”.

The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use report is published today, Thursday. Chairman Paul Reid said the legislative issues around decriminalisation were up to the Oireachtas to tease out. Picture: Maxwell's

The HSE continues to have a ‘red alert’ in place for heroin users after the highly potent synthetic opioid nitazine was blamed for 70 non-fatal overdoses in Dublin and Cork last November and December.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Reid said: “This report is recommending a decriminalised model and that that should be executed by a complete pivotal shift from our reliance, in the first instance, on a criminal justice process towards a comprehensive health process.”

He said the assembly, comprised of 99 citizens selected randomly, backed a “comprehensive health-led approach” for drug possession.

In relation to cannabis, there was only one vote between this option and full-scale legalisation.

During assembly hearings, there was confusion among assembly members, and disagreement among legal experts, as to what decriminalisation meant and whether it was possible to have drugs illegal but not an offence subject to criminal sanction.

Mr Reid said the assembly adopted the position that members should focus on the end result, on what they wanted from Ireland’s drug laws, and to leave it to the politicians to determine how to implement it.

In the assembly’s recommendation for a comprehensive health-led approach, people caught with drugs for personal possession would be given “extensive opportunities” to engage voluntarily with health services. It said: 

This would minimise, or potentially completely remove, the possibility of criminal conviction and prison sentences for simple possession.

The assembly’s report will be sent to the Oireachtas and the Government, with the former due to set up a committee to examine it, and the latter obliged to give a detailed response.

Mr Reid stressed that political leaders have the “responsibility” to implement the report, rather than leave it to departments and state agencies.

“I’d like to see the Oireachtas and the political system take ownership of this now,” he said.

“I would have concerns that statutory bodies and departments would steer the next phase of the process.

“The views of agencies and departments have been considered in the assembly process. This is now a political process and the best way to drive implementation is at a very senior political level.”

Both the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána told the assembly they were opposed to any legal changes other than the already-agreed, but not yet implemented, health diversion programme. This would give a maximum of two referrals to health services for drug possession.

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The Government is likely to seek the views of the Department of Justice, the gardaí, the DPP, and the Attorney General before giving its response and certainly before drafting any legislation.

Mr Reid said he would like to see the Oireachtas committee set up “very quickly” and that, in parallel, the Government would study the report and give their response.

This would then be followed by draft legislation, which would be subject to Oireachtas committee scrutiny, followed by a final bill.

Mr Reid said he hoped this would happen “in 2024 and not 2025”.