Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate you on your election to the Chair, a Chathaoirligh. I thank the graduates of Trinity College for giving me the mandate to be here today. I also thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, for his time.

To give a bit of background, I spent the past 15 years developing addiction programmes on local drugs task forces. I have been involved in drug research on drug trends and the changing nature of drug use. I have also worked directly with those involved in low-level dealing. I was alarmed to read in the media last week about proposed amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Acts that would further criminalise the drug user. How we as legislators respond to the use and sale of drugs illustrates our values. I, along with others, was elected to advocate for a progressive drug policy. Criminalising drug users has been proven by international evidence-based research to have failed to address addiction and drug problems. All over the world societies are recognising that addiction needs to be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one. If we look at the amendments in the light of recent developments on injection rooms, it is nonsensical; it is a case of one step forward and two steps back. For example, the Minister has named zopiclone as a drug that would be targeted by the amendments. Many of the people selling zopiclone are selling it to fund their own drug use. People who are addicted to zopiclone, a widely used street benzo, would be at risk of resorting to other substances that would create further harms to the individual and the community. The proposed change would also alter trends in drug use, which the services cannot keep up with in the absence of adequate resources. Many who use street benzos cannot access treatment for benzo addiction. Many people have suffered benzo fits from trying to detox themselves. The Bill does not help the matter as it potentially forces the removal of such drugs from the market without matching that with treatment beds, which pushes the addict further into harm. I expect that would not be the desired outcome for the Minister for Health.

I draw the Minister's attention to studies that clearly demonstrate the need to be progressive with drug policy, not regressive, which the amendments are mostly. In the context of the UN General Assembly on the world drug problem, a Brookings Institution report outlined that "socio-economic approaches for addressing drug-related crime and alternative livelihoods policies should be fully integrated into overall...economic development efforts". The report also stated: "Mass incarceration of users and low-level, non-violent pushers does little to suppress - and can exacerbate - the use of illicit drugs. It may also increase drug market violence."

Possession of street benzos and the legality of those puts extra strain on already under-resourced gardaí and potentially costs the State due to unnecessary imprisonment of low-level dealers. In another study, the International Drug Policy Consortium, an important point it made was that the level of harm is more important than the size of the market, and for me, the amendments are harmful. To further criminalise individuals will further alienate them, prevent them from moving on and having prospects, especially with the current Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill. The success of the Portuguese model has been well documented and I urge the Minister to explore the evidence for a decriminalisation model that includes a person-centred approach to drugs and addiction.

I call on the Minister to delay the introduction of the measures to allow for input from all involved stakeholders in order that policy is evidence based. Will he commit in the future to evidence-based drug policy that has harm reduction at its foundation rather than contributing to the cycle of criminality? How will the banned drugs be scheduled? Could the Minister indicate whether the control of the substances will be extended to the medical and pharmaceutical industries, as the over-prescription of the drugs has been much more harmful than the illegal street dealing. I understand that the Minister possibly feels compelled to respond to the incidents in the north inner city but I hope he will consider that the measures are regressive, potentially harmful to the users health, and ultimately will never affect those at the top of the drug trade.