Decriminalising illicit drugs for personal use recommended by Citizens’ Assembly in final report

A dedicated Cabinet committee chaired by the Taoiseach should be set up to oversee a policy “pivot” to the decriminalisation of illicit drugs, according to a new report.

The criminal justice system needs to move towards a comprehensive health-led response to the possession of drugs for personal use, the final report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use says.

The assembly, which met from April to October last year, has made 36 recommendations aimed at reducing the harm caused by illicit drug use.

Under its central recommendation, the State would respond to drug use and misuse primarily as a public health issue rather than as a criminal justice issue.

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“While possession of controlled drugs would remain illegal, people found in possession of illicit drugs for personal use would be afforded, first and foremost, extensive opportunities to engage voluntarily with health-led services,” the report states.

This approach could completely remove the possibility of criminal conviction and prison sentences for possession of any illegal drug, it says. People found in possession of illicit drugs would be given a health referral, including access to addiction services.

The report says this is the practice in Portugal and Austria, where health diversion, decriminalisation and dissuasive sanctions are combined.

The recommendation was made despite reservations expressed by An Garda Síochána and medical experts. Lessons from jurisdictions that have legalised drugs show increases in crime, normalisation of drug use and the continuing involvement of organised criminal gangs in the illicit drugs market, Assistant Garda Commissioner Justin Quinn told the assembly.

Liberalisation of drug laws in some US states was followed by an increase in drug tourism, increases in drug driving and other crimes and the persistence of large illicit market driven by criminal gangs, according to Ben Ryan, assistant secretary general at the Department of Justice.

In her contribution to the assembly, chief medical officer Prof Breda Smyth argued that legalisation would result in normalisation of drug use and increased harms, and advocated for a multilayered public health approach with evidence-based prevention. The use of cannabis in Ireland was “of great concern,” she added.

The 100-member assembly heard from 130 speakers and panellists, held 250 hours of deliberations and received 800 public submissions.

Its chairman, former HSE chief Paul Reid, called on the Government to now “seize this momentum” and move quickly to implement its recommendations.

“The Citizens’ Assembly was given the important job of considering what the State could do to significantly reduce the harms caused by illicit drug use, and a clear deadline to produce a final report. We have produced an Irish model set in an Irish context that represents a generational chance to improve the lives of many individuals, families and communities impacted by our current approach to drug use. We owe it to them and society in general to embrace this opportunity.”

While the assembly achieved “broad consensus” on the path forward, there was “great divergence of opinion” about possible legislative change, he acknowledged. A vote on whether to legalise cannabis was lost by just one vote.

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