Build a drug-free society, and say no to failed policy of decriminalisation

Fr McVerry’s work with homeless youth in Dublin’s inner city is highly valued and rightly so. However, he has become blinded by his righteous anger at the injustice of neglect to vulnerable and homeless people there.

To suggest that drugs can be bought as easily as pizza in certain places may of course be true. If this is so, then why aren’t our Garda concentrating on these areas of concern? Is this because we do not have enough gardaí on the beat due to cutbacks to arrest dealers?

It certainly throws a bad light on policing in Ireland. But to suggest that because of this, drugs should now be decriminalised, is gravely misleading. Drug decriminalisation removes dealing from the criminal system and the dealers will use their addicts who are in debt to them to deal in smaller quantities.