Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is clear from the motion and the statistics that the consumption of drugs is increasing, both nationally and globally. The demand for and use of drugs are greater than ever before, particularly for certain drugs. It runs in parallels with the upsurge in the economy. On a personal level, I have seen what drugs can do and the devastation they can cause to individuals, families and communities. We will have to have a grown up argument about why prohibition has failed. Drugs are destroying communities, but the market for drugs has been surrendered to individuals who only care about profits and making as much money possible. This raises the question of whether we should do something completely different from what we are doing. The consumption of drugs is increasing and prohibition is simply not working.

The debate about decriminalisation in the context of the national drug strategy will continue. Decriminalisation should have happened 20 years ago and should happen today. It should be done and implemented properly because putting people through the criminal justice system just does not work. In fact, over 40% of the people incarcerated are in prison for cannabis use. Anybody listening to this debate should know that nobody should be in jail for cannabis use. That drug should be legalised immediately.

The pharmaceutical industry presents another issue. I read an incredible statistic which I had to check and re-check. Last year 32,000 people in the United States died from a Fentanyl overdose. That is one person every 20 minutes which is absolutely incredible. Some 70,000 people in the United States died of a drug overdose last year, which is astonishing. These drugs are legal. They are in a package which can be bought in a pharmacy. Pharmaceutical companies that make billions and billions in profits are allowed to continue to operate unchecked and cause the social damage we have seen.

We need to look in new ways at the catastrophe drugs cause. Decriminalisation is very important. Drugs will be with us forever. No matter what we say, people will use them and it does not matter what laws are in place. A new approach is required. We need the regulation, decriminalisation and legalisation of certain drugs. That debate has to happen and it will be a difficult one for some, but if it is about saving lives, we should look at the Portuguese model. In 15 years thousands of people have been saved from death and the criminal justice system. I note that the new strategy looks at holistic ways of dealing with drug addiction and drug use. That is good and what we should be doing. However, decriminalisation should happen today.

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