Mr. Hugh Greaves:

The Deputy asked for the task forces' view. I cannot give that view because each task force represents its own range of community services and local people. There would be a general welcome of a debate. In the recent drugs strategy, there is a health-led approach so that people with first offences for drug possession will have a health intervention rather than a criminal intervention. A diversion system is being introduced, which is welcome. The issues that I raised at a community level about the disruption caused by drug dealing in a local neighbourhood will not be dealt with by a discussion about criminalisation or decriminalisation. We need community policing to make those communities feel safe, reassured and so on. I think a discussion of it would be generally welcome. It is a complex issue. Even decriminalisation of cannabis presents all sorts of issues relating to psychological damage done by the strength of the cannabis products that exist. The way they are currently sold is a concern, with cannabis edibles that people get, including deliveries from sources on the Internet of jelly babies that are cannabis-infused and so on, which has led to damage for children. There was some publicity about that recently.

Local communities demonstrated their view of how they feel about criminalisation or decriminalisation when the head shop debate happened a number of years ago. I remember a protest about a shop in Enfield where people voted with their feet and it closed down quickly because people saw that there was no place for it. That is reflective of the complexity of some of the issues. For example, if alcohol was a brand new product and was introduced in Ireland, there is no way that it would be introduced as an unregulated, free-for-all substance that anyone can access because of the damage that it does and the lives that have been lost year-on-year. It would be introduced with strong regulation. The issue of decriminalisation needs to be carefully debated. We have not seen the research about what legalisation, as has happened in parts of the United States, will do for psychological health for young people in states such as Colorado.