Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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Many of us have been involved in this field for a long time. I do not underestimate anyone's intentions or how much people care about those they work with it. I am getting more and more disheartened as this conversation goes on. I have been in this conversation not only as a member of the Joint Committee on Justice now, but it is something I have worked towards for a long time. I am becoming increasingly scared for my community because we seem to be having intellectual conversations going back and forth.

The drug user is not responsible for the black-market drug trade. Deputy Gino Kenny and Senator Ward said that the State does not want to be seen to be facilitating a black market, but we facilitate our own pockets because of that black market. The hypocrisy of that is unbelievable. Those involved in the justice system, the legal aid system, probation and prison system are all benefiting and profiting from prohibition. The people at the bottom of the latter are still suffering, are still going to prison and are still being stopped and searched on the street. They still have to tell their child that they cannot go with them on their summer project because they have to be Garda vetted to go on that and they would be too embarrassed to tell the local community centre that they have a charge from 20 years ago. When we talk about saving lives, it is not as simple as taking the immediate view. In the long term, it can save lives because not having a conviction can help lives to flourish.

We should forget about who benefits from the black market in drugs and just talk about who is losing here. We need to help them while we figure out what the harm reduction model is, what the drug policy is and what interventions people need as humans. People in every society in the world seek pleasure through substance use. There lies the problem. We need to look at the human psyche and human development in the context of the need to seek pleasure or the need to medicate. It may be environmental or a human involvement of our psyche.

Can we stop using poor people, mostly as a weapon, in the context of having this conversation? All of us can agree that they are not criminals. Mr. Condon is not a criminal. Mr. Tynan is not a criminal. I am not a criminal. My family are not criminals. All the friends I have buried who overdosed in hospitals because of poverty and their addictions were not criminals. I think we all agree on . Why do we continue to use them as a pawn because of intellectual medical conversations that are actually not serving them?

We need to look at our own prejudices, our own biases and our own understanding of human development and why we seek pleasure seek and self-medicate. We need to look at poverty and marginalisation. We need to stop using the criminal courts and to focus our attention on the people who need our support - the support of everyone in this room. The focus is completely wrong and they need to be separated.