Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The report by the UK Drug Policy Commission, an independent advisory body, states possession of small amounts of controlled drugs should no longer be a criminal offence. The commission concludes that such a move would not lead to a significant increase in use. The experts say criminal sanctions should be replaced with simple civil penalties such as a fine, attendance at a drug awareness session or a referral to a drug treatment programme. They also say imposing minimal or no sanctions on those growing cannabis for personal use could go some way towards undermining the increasing number of illicit cannabis factories controlled by organised crime. These issues are as relevant in Ireland as they are in Britain and we need to take a serious look at them.

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