Dáil debates

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Cannabis for Medicinal Use (Regulations) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

8:35 pm

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome the Bill and fair play to Deputy Gino Kenny and the AAA-PBP for bringing it forward. It will certainly help to ease pain for thousands of people in Ireland suffering from a wide range of medical conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain syndrome and numerous other conditions. The evidence for this has been reported recently in the Barnes report, which states there is increasing evidence that when patients use cannabis-based medicines, their use of dangerous prescription medicines is reduced, which I welcome.

The Bill will provide security of supply and quality and will enable the provision of safe and effective medicinal cannabis.

It will also initiate a repositioning or recategorising of cannabis as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice one. The Bill advocates handing responsibility for cannabis policy to the Department of Health and is a step in taking responsibility away from the Department of Justice and Equality, which is certainly positive. Criminalising the efforts of people to alleviate the severe pain and discomfort they are suffering is a particularly cruel policy. Criminalising those with addictions is similarly doubling down on punishment for people who are already victims of the regressive laws surrounding prohibition in Ireland.

Last summer, the British Medical Association called for a move to prioritise treatment over punishment of individual drug users at its annual meeting. Repressive drug policies create far more harm than the drugs themselves. Furthermore, the so-called war on drugs is disproportionately a war on people who are poor, disadvantaged and marginalised. Despite more than 40 years of criminalising the user, drugs have never been more in demand, as cheap or as widely available. There is no police force or government anywhere in the world that can claim or demonstrate that prohibition of drugs is a solution to the problem surrounding them or their use. Thankfully, there are many examples from all over the world of how relaxing drug laws brings positive outcomes for everyone involved. Portugal and Switzerland have shown us how progressive drug policies work. Why are we so committed to punishing those who need care and help? Why do we introduce such regressive laws when the evidence clearly shows that prohibition does not work? The legalisation of cannabis will eliminate the illegal trade and associated crime and control the quality of the product, yield valuable tax and reduce policing costs. Globally, according to an article in the Harvard International Reviewin 2015, it is estimated that the illicit drug trade constitutes the largest revenue stream for organised crime in the world. Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and chairperson of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, recently stated that the need for more effective and humane drug policies is more urgent now than ever. She argues for a pragmatic approach to drug policy reform, starting with the recognition that the idealised notion of a society without drugs is an unattainable fantasy.

Drug use is a reality in Ireland. It is a fact of life. The Government’s attitude to drug policy has been much like its attitude to abortion. An estimated nine girls and women travel every day from Ireland to the UK for abortions, according to statistics by that jurisdiction's Department of Health. A total of 3,450 women from Ireland presented for abortions in the UK in 2015. Abortion is a reality in Ireland. Even a person who opposes abortion, for whatever reason, must realise that an idealised notion of an abortion-free Ireland is a fantasy. Abortion exists here. We should legislate for it and decriminalise and support these women, offering them the care they need and deserve. Likewise, we should decriminalise and support drug users. To those who think of cannabis as harmful, I would argue that regulating a harmful substance is not a new idea. We already regulate several harmful substances. We should regulate the drug trade and become global leaders in that area.

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