Mr. Daniel Kirby:

I am a PhD student of biomedical physics at Dublin City University. As we outlined in our submission, decriminalisation of personal possession is certainly a very positive step to take towards battling the problems associated with drugs in our country today. However, it is important to be honest about the shortcomings of decriminalisation and seriously explore the possibility of legalisation and strict regulation of drugs.

The knee-jerk response to any mention of legalisation of drugs is fear that it would increase availability. This is not true. Drugs are incredibly easy to find in any town in this country, despite their illegality. What we currently have is an entirely unregulated black market for drugs. It is precisely because drug use is risky that we want to explore a regulated market.

It is essential to accept that large sections of our society engage in illegal drug use. This will always be the case, whether it is a nurse smoking a joint after a stressful day, a student taking ecstasy at a party, an artist taking LSD because he or she is curious about the perceptions of reality or a homeless heroin user trying to forget the pain of his or her early life. We can shake our heads and wonder why people engage in activities that seem irresponsible and pointless to some of us or we can accept that some people will always engage in risky behaviour. We should allow them to do so without being branded criminals or greatly increasing that risk by the fact that the only drugs available are of unknown origin and purity.

We have a chance to create a correctly regulated drug market, learning from the mistakes made with alcohol and cigarettes. There should be strictly regulated marketing, with no pushing of products or sponsoring of sporting events.

Many countries around the world have realised that the war on drugs is not working, and governments are starting to take action. From Portugal to Uruguay and from Colorado to Washington, Governments are investigating new approaches. It is time for us to seriously consider moving the control of drugs from criminal gangs to the governments who are supposed to have our best interests at heart. Legalisation and regulation are the only way to do this.