Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022. I thank Deputy Gino Kenny and People Before Profit for bringing forward this legislation. I fully support this Bill, which will decriminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Treating the possession of small amounts of cannabis as an offence is nonsensical and frankly ridiculous, and I believe the majority of the public agrees as well. Not only that but the criminalisation of people who are in possession of small amounts of cannabis is a massive waste of Garda time, especially during what we are told is a Garda shortage. Reports over the last few months indicate that the decline in Garda numbers has caused gardaí to struggle to keep up with policing demands, including 999 calls.

One Garda member told The Irish Timesrecently that although gardaí had complained for years about a shortage of Garda vehicles, they now do not have enough gardaí to drive the vehicles. It does not make sense when gardaí are forced to waste their time on the possession of cannabis for personal use, while at the same time struggling to keep up with emergency calls. It is also a complete waste of time for the courts, which are also struggling to deal with the backlog of thousands of courts summonses.

Some 70% of all drug offences were for personal possession in 2022. This is contributing massively to the clogging-up of our justice system and to draining Garda resources. It is clear that our priorities are completely wrong here and that our justice system is wasting its resources on people who are not causing any harm or danger. The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use has recommended the decriminalisation of certain drugs, including cannabis, as part of a move to look at drugs under a health-led approach as opposed to a criminal justice approach. While the citizens' assembly wasted a major opportunity to draw on many important resources and international expertise, it still came to the conclusion that cannabis should be decriminalised. Why then is the Government dragging its heels on this? Why are we refusing to progress this Bill today when all it is doing is stalling much-needed reform?

Research shows that drug-related deaths plummeted in Portugal following decriminalisation in 2001, remaining below 2001 levels and well below the current EU average. By not following up on the citizens' assembly recommendations, we are putting lives at risk and failing to act on what the citizens' assembly set out to do in the first place, namely, to reform drugs policy in this country.

Drug use is a reality of many people's lives across every community in Ireland. Pretending this is not the case and continuing with the criminalisation of this is nonsensical and a serious step back. Reforming how we understand and respond to drug use should be a priority for us all. We cannot continue to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that we can continue to sustain the illegality of cannabis when it does not make sense.

This Bill is very moderate. It is a very small step forward, which is why it is so concerning that the Government refuses to take this step. The Minister of State indicated that the Government is committed to taking a health-led approach, while at the same thing doing the opposite by stalling this very important Bill and suggesting it is somehow premature. How can the decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use be premature when so many countries around the world and in Europe have not only decriminalised but have legalised the recreational use of cannabis?

It is equally concerning that others in opposition have indicated that they would not vote in favour of decriminalisation of cannabis. Decriminalisation is international best practice and those who vote against this legislation will be going against international best practice. It makes sense to free up scarce resources and have gardaí working on issues that are of significance, rather than clogging up the courts with offenders found with drugs for personal use.

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