Dr. Denis O'Driscoll:

I concur completely with Dr. Crowley and his colleagues. Having worked in the addiction services, I have always seen that once people have criminal records it makes their lives very difficult. It is a huge impediment to them moving forward. For me, decriminalisation of the user is an important step forward. We need to look at this possibility and at diversion projects. As Dr. Crowley said, there are areas where there are treatment waiting lists that must be got rid of. We should not have waiting lists. Equally, we should have primary care more involved with other drugs of addiction, as has been said. The most important thing is that we should not be focused solely on opioids because we know that cocaine and stimulant use is increasing significantly. This cohort of people needs to be looked after as much as we look after our opioid users. From the perspective of somebody still practising in a community pharmacy, while also having worked in addiction services for a long time, it is about always being there to support the person in front of me and to be very patient-centred in respect of their recovery.