Sarah Harte: Radical change of penal policy needed as we are losing war on drugs

The relationship between alcohol and cocaine has seen the use of the illegal narcotic rocket in this country, bringing more and more people to the attention of the law, especially young people, where strict punishments mean many lives are ruined. Sarah Harte questions our strategy to defeat illegal drugs and if there is a better alternative.

A radical rethink of our entire approach to drugs is needed, which would also potentially benefit young ‘recreational’ drug users.

Last Friday, in the Cork Central Criminal Court, Judge Sarah Berkeley, handed down a three-year sentence to Elyas Eshaji for possession of cocaine for sale or supply, suspending the last six months.

A week prior, on June 24, Judge Berkely said, after hearing the evidence in the case, that she was “struggling to know what to do with him”, remanding him in custody for a week, adding: “It will give him a taste of prison life. Maybe that will cause him to swallow hard and think about what he is doing.”