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

Obviously, I welcome the establishment of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. It is a very important debate and probably the most important of this generation where drug use is concerned. Why it took three years in the lifetime of this Government beggars belief and why it has taken decades to come to this level of discussion also beggars belief. We have seen other models across the world where drug use and addiction are treated more holistically and with more empathy. By locking people up - and the majority of people in Irish prisons are there for some form of the drugs business - it shows level of failure of the State's policy for those who are in the drugs industry. The majority of people in prison are there for that purpose. We have seen other models across the world such as that of Portugal. Those other models have saved lives. I have said many times in this Chamber that if it can save one life, then a change of policy is worthwhile.

We cannot talk about decriminalisation without talking about regulation. Under decriminalisation, which is a much better model than the status quo, the black market still exists, and so all the drugs we are talking about would still be illegal. What gives the game away on this failed policy is a question I have asked many times, yet nobody has come up with an answer to it. Who are all the controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act controlled by? They are not controlled by the Government; they are controlled by the black market, and that gives the game away. As long as there is demand for drugs the black market will exist. I do not say this to dilute the issue of decriminalisation but we have to talk about regulation of some drugs that are illicit, such as cannabis and possibly others. We have to because otherwise the black market continues. You are decriminalising the person, which is good, but you need to go further than that.

Public opinion on this matter has shifted. In recent years, public opinion has moved beyond opinion in this House. A type of rot has set in whereby we keep the status quo because people did not see an alternative. There is an alternative now, and public opinion is looking at alternatives on this issue. It is a complex matter. Drug use can be very dark, to say the least. I have seen it in my community where drugs have taken hold of people, families and communities and it is absolutely ugly. Even having seen all that and looking back now, do I think there is a better model and a better way to treat people who fall into addiction for many reasons, including poverty and alienation? People take drugs for all sorts of reasons.

People take drugs through trauma. If people have problems with alcohol, we do not send them to prison. If people have a problem or a dependency on drugs, however, they are alienated and will be sent to prison. This is why I think the system is a failure.

In the last 50 years, in the context of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, when we look at the proliferation of all drugs, demand across the world has risen exponentially. It is impossible to stop the demand for drugs, their sale, etc. Even the President of Colombia, a country which has suffered terribly in recent decades from the narco wars, having lost hundreds of thousands of people, is saying, "Look, this policy just is not working anymore and we must do something different". I believe other countries are now following suit to look at a different model. This model is decriminalisation. I must again emphasise regulation and looking at how we take control back from the mire of the black market. I say this because a small number of people have enriched themselves from this market, and through violence. It is incredible how much money they have and how powerful they are. The only way to undermine these people is to take control back. If we do not do this, then these people will always have control. We must, therefore, take control back. This is a wider argument, but hopefully we can have it over the next months and years.

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