Sarah Harte: Decriminalise dope use but only if public health message is managed

Maybe it’s time for some hard-hitting public health ads about the dangers of cannabis featuring young men in particular who relate the life-altering effects of their consumption.

Last weekend, I was walking down the Mardyke in Cork when I smelled a strong yeast-like smell. I assumed there was a microbrewery in the vicinity. 

It’s the same smell I got recently on an East London street. 

On Sunday, a Gen Z-er accompanying me down the same road clarified by exclaiming “God, the bang of weed on this road”.

Drugs have also raised their head in the ongoing Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government formation talks. 

Last Thursday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin reiterated his determination to decriminalise the possession of drugs for the personal use of cannabis. 

Although Callan’s Kicks did an amusing sketch of Martin advocating the decriminalisation of “yokes, molly, benzos, bosco biscuits, scooby snacks, Billie Barry biscuits”, the Tánaiste is not somebody you would picture lighting up a fattie.

Nor would Taoiseach Simon Harris come across as a stoner. Cheech and Chong, they ain’t.

While Harris has, in principle, also endorsed a health-led approach to addiction, he has warned against “creating a social acceptance around the taking of drugs that can have very significant adverse health effects”.

In summary, he is not down with decriminalisation because he thinks it sends a mixed message about public health.

The reality is that drug-taking is already, broadly speaking, socially acceptable among younger generations. 

Drug consumption is certainly mainstream as compared to when I was going to university. 

Back then, drugs were niche and underground, and privileged middle-class kids liked to delude themselves they were living on the edge. They were, however, in the minority.

There’s been a kind of switcheroo since then, drug-taking is now more normal than not. 

Young people consuming more substances

A report from the Health Research Board (HRB) shows while young Irish people are beginning to drink later, they are consuming more substances. 

In the last mass survey of drug use among third-level students — the Drug Use in Higher Education in Ireland project — only 43% had never used drugs which means 57% had. 

The survey highlighted how cannabis was the primary illegal drug (52%), followed by cocaine and then ecstasy.

It’s not all fun and games though. According to the National Drug Treatment Reporting System, which provides data on treated drug and alcohol misuse in Ireland, among young cases — aged 19 years or younger — cannabis was the primary drug generating treatment demand.

The HRB report relates how adolescents who were reported to have attempted suicide were more likely to have smoked cannabis than adolescents who did not (36% versus 14%).

Time and time again, I hear of young males, sons, and nephews of friends and acquaintances being sent to rehab if they are lucky. 

If they are unlucky, developing schizophrenia as a result of excessive smoking of weed with life-changing consequences. 

The link between heavy weed use and the onset of schizophrenia in young men is the subject of many medical papers.

One Danish study which tracked health records over five decades, representing more than six million Danes, found strong evidence of an association between heavy cannabis use and schizophrenia, particularly in young men. 

The study estimated that as many as 30% of cases of schizophrenia among men aged 21-30 might have been prevented by averting cannabis use disorder.

Maybe the message isn’t getting through that cannabis is not necessarily as harmless as a drug as is generally thought. 

I have a friend who has smoked cannabis every day of his adult life. He argues it is less harmful than drink, which he says leads to all sorts of public harm. 

While nobody could deny our disordered relationship with drink, some might disagree with him, particularly now when cannabis is often synthetic and composed of a plant material that has been doused with hallucinogenic chemicals. 

It is not the relatively harmless substance of natural marijuana that people smoked in the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties.

I stress relative because heavy use of natural marijuana has also been linked to the early onset of schizophrenia in young people and exacerbates mental health issues for those who have a susceptibility by changing brain function. 

When smoked persistently over a prolonged period, it can also lead to personality change and loss of attention and performance.

Issues following legalisation in other countries

So, has Micheál Martin and, by extension, Fianna Fáil lost the plot by advocating decriminalisation when, in some countries, there has been a measure of post-legalisation heebie jeebies? 

For instance, in New York, where they legalised cannabis in 2021, hard questions are being asked about whether legalisation was the correct approach.

Data from both New York and Canada suggest a sharp surge in cannabis-related car crashes post-legalisation. 

There’s also a suggestion that the sharp rise in overdose deaths from more potent drugs in New York has coincided with the legalisation of marijuana. 

Some experts believe this indicates how the legalisation of marijuana led to greater conditioning or acceptance of drugs, with pot acting as a gateway drug, which is presumably what Simon Harris is driving at.

However, as Micheál Martin clearly and rightly points out, decriminalisation is not legalisation. They are horses of a markedly different colour. 

Legalisation means that smoking weed is no longer illegal, and that potentially sends a strong public health message. 

On the other hand, decriminalisation means the act is still illegal, but when you get caught with pot for personal use, you avoid the application of criminal sanctions. 

With decriminalisation, you could replace criminal penalties with civil penalties, which could include, where necessary, a referral to an education or treatment programme.

The strong and compelling advantage of decriminalisation of cannabis use is that people caught in possession of a small amount of drugs won’t end up in the criminal justice system, which is a total waste of time and public money. 

It clogs up the criminal justice system, which is already strained. 

We do not need gardaí, especially when they are so thin on the ground, prosecuting personal possession cases for cannabis. It’s madness.

And that’s before you even get to the personal costs for the individual, particularly for young people, whether they are casual users or somebody suffering from addiction, where consequences can impact employment and travel opportunities. 

This is a health and social issue; it shouldn’t be criminal, nor do I believe it is a moral issue.

Readers of a libertarian bent may believe consenting adults should be able to ingest what they want. 

A part of me semi-believes this, but ultimately, it’s a glib, deficient view, as so many libertarian arguments are, which don’t give a toss about the greater good of society. 

Serious problems for minors with cannabis use 

The logic breaks down anyway when you consider many of those who run into serious problems with cannabis use do so long before they reach the age of majority.

In the end, there’s no silver bullet here. People like to get high, whether they get there by smoking dope or by flinging back several gin and tonics in quick succession. 

This is not a ‘keep blazing and stay amazing’ appeal because we can decriminalise the personal use of cannabis and simultaneously address public health messaging.

Maybe it’s time for some hard-hitting public health ads about the dangers of cannabis featuring young men in particular who relate the life-altering effects of their consumption. 

It worked with drink-driving, maybe it can work in this context.