Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

If we pass this Bill without the amendment, it will be legislation that sets out to criminalise people who have a monkey on their backs, so to speak. We will also give them a second monkey, as it were, by telling them it is not a health issue, that we are not offering the services or even offering to give them back the services the previous Government slashed to bits, and that all we offer is the prospect of being arrested and possibly jailed or heavily fined for being addicted to prescription drugs which they should not possess. Deputy Wallace is right. If we wish to pursue this, the Bill must be amended to say that those carrying the drugs for personal use should not be subject to the criminalisation the Bill proposes.

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