Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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We have a very strong culture of alcohol and alcohol abuse. It is largely socially accepted as part of our culture. The way drugs are in other cultures is in many ways how alcohol has been in Ireland for far too long. I hear what Mr. Leitão da Silva is saying about an attitudinal change. It requires an investment in attitude and the police force being required to adopt a humane approach, to accept that users are themselves victims, and to completely disengage from a criminalising approach to users of drugs. I hear Mr. Leitão da Silva on that, but from an operational policing perspective, will he talk us through how it is operationally for the police force to navigate that space between users being just users and then the suppliers? I assume most users are very modest users. It is just for personal use. There have to be grey areas and I understand Portugal does not have a legalised method for sale and distribution, so all sales and distribution are illegal and criminal acts. How does one police in that space or in that transaction?