Garda policies on illegal drugs 'evolved to more humane approach' to users

A key recommendation of the Citizens Assembly on Drugs, which published its report last January, was for the introduction of a comprehensive health-led approach to possession of drugs for personal use.

Garda policies towards illegal drugs have “evolved beyond comprehension” over the last 30 years towards a “more humane approach” to users, the country’s newly appointed Deputy Garda Commissioner has said.

Justin Kelly told the Oireachtas Committee on Drugs that An Garda Síochána was “well used to change” and that if new legislation altered the legal approach to possession of drugs for personal use, gardaí will implement it.

Mr Kelly was appointed to the second highest rank in the organisation on Tuesday.

Since May 2022 he had been Assistant Commissioner, Organised and Serious Crime, the section that includes all the national units, including the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB).

The Oireachtas drugs committee is holding extensive hearings from a range of experts and officials on the 36 recommendations made in the Citizens Assembly on Drugs.

Possession

A key recommendation of the assembly, which published its report last January, was for the introduction of a comprehensive health-led approach to possession of drugs for personal use.

Under such a system “drugs would remain illegal” but people caught in possession would be offered “extensive opportunities” to engage voluntarily with health services, instead of being brought through the criminal process.

It said given there were “important legal and constitutional issues” to be considered, it said it was “the responsibility of the Oireachtas, informed by legal advice and detailed pre-legislative scrutiny” to determine the best legal mechanisms to achieve this goal.

Senator Lynn Ruane welcomed DC Kelly’s opening statement that gardaí supported the health-led approach, adding that she hoped the health-led approach recommended by the assembly will “look very different” to the current health diversion scheme.

This scheme, agreed by the Government in August 2019, has still not been implemented. It envisaged a limited number of diversions (up to two) to health services for those caught in possession of drugs.

Asked by the senator how the gardaí has developed its health approach since he joined in 1992, DC Kelly said their approach to drugs had “evolved beyond comprehension”.

He said the organisation has come to support ‘back of house’ drug testing at festivals, the forthcoming supervised injecting facility in Dublin, the provision of naloxone (an antidote to opioid overdoses) to garda members as well as the health diversion scheme.

He said that it there is any new legislation on drug possession gardaí would give their views on it.

“Sometimes our views and observations are taken on board with new legislation and sometimes they’re not and whatever the end result is, we will police that,” he said.

He said even the delayed health diversion scheme meant a “huge organisational change” for the organisation.

Cautions

Chair Gino Kenny TD asked about official figures on the Adult Caution Scheme for cannabis possession, which, he said, showed a "very imbalanced" picture in relation to numbers given a caution and those prosecuted.

These figures showed that 5,139 people were given a caution between December 2020 and February 2024, compared to 17,125 people being prosecuted.

Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland of DOCB said there was some “misunderstandings” around the data and said his analysis showed that of the 20,000 people detected in possession of cannabis between December 2020 and February 2024, two thirds (13,400) did not meet the criteria for the caution scheme.

This could have been because they either denied the offence, did not wish to be cautioned, had multiple previous offences, had already received a caution or also faced a drugs supply or other offences along with possession.

Of the rest, 5,000 people did receive a caution. He said this left only 1,500 who did not receive a caution, adding there could be valid reasons for that.

Earlier, the committee heard calls for an independent inspector for addiction services, similar with systems operating across the health system.

Peter Kelly, assistant professor of mental health nursing at Trinity College Dublin, said it was “crazy” that there was no such inspector.

“We have inspectorates for other marginalised groups, but drug users are not worthy of independent inspection,” he told members.

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He said this would help address the problems of trauma among users and stigma they face, including from professionals in the services.

He said the Mental Health Commission had led to “transformational change” in the culture of mental health services.

Mr Kelly supported calls from fellow Trinity nursing academic Barry McBrien for nurses to be allowed prescribe methadone.

Professor Catherine Comiskey, attached to the School of Nursing at Trinity, urged the committee to tackle stigma around drug use, to push for progressive drug policies and to back independent research.

She called on members to “tackle decriminalisation”, adding she was not telling them to decriminalise, but said that research indicated there is “not a relationship” between drug laws and usage of cannabis among young people.