State should pull drug trade from ‘monster’ gangs by decriminalising, say youth workers

The “monster” of criminal drug gangs will never be defeated by current Irish policies on illegal narcotic use and the State should move towards decriminalising these products and regulating their sale through responsible outlets, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use has heard.

Eddie D’Arcy, representing Youth Workers Against Prohibition, an organisation of 200 frontline youth workers, said they are very concerned about drug gangs controlling and intimidating young people by threatening and inflicting “high-level violence” on them and their families.

Drugs are more available in Ireland now than ever before, he said, and gangs have power and control over communities countrywide. Mr D’Arcy said one gang chops off the fingers of people who owe them money, with some who cannot pay being sucked into joining their operations.

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He said drugs do serious harm but some State policies such as criminalisation, which can affect a user’s employment and housing prospects, also create life-long problems.

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He said the assembly should “be brave” and take the “really bold step” of recommending decriminalisation and regulation of the sale of currently illegal drugs through State outlets and pharmacies.

“Let’s take the trade out of the drug gangs because we will never defeat them under current policies,” said Mr D’Arcy, adding that there also needs to be massive investment in facilities for young people in communities.

Prof Bobby Smyth, a psychiatrist working in adolescent addiction services and representative of the Cannabis Risk Alliance, said he is among 25 senior doctors concerned about cannabis and the harm it causes.

He said it is a cause for celebration that heroin use among adolescents has effectively ended, but cannabis is now the dominant drug across all socio-economic groups, with 80 per cent of referrals nationwide to the services related to it.

Cannabis dependence derails young lives, is associated with significant mental health issues and damages family relationships, he said.

Prof Smyth said legalisation of cannabis in the US has proven to be a mistake and the idea that doing so gets rid of organised crime groups “is a fantasy”.

Legalisation?

Drugs policy should be health-led with a balance of information, recommendations and a degree of enforcement, he said. “Legalisation is a step far too far.”

Speakers with legal, medical, academic and front-line expertise related to drug policy addressed the final day of the fourth meeting of the assembly in Malahide, Dublin, on Sunday.

Four speakers outlined the different legal frameworks available. Prof Andrew Percy, of Queen’s University Belfast, a criminologist and expert on adolescent risk-taking behaviours, said the assembly should think “very carefully” about unintended consequences of policy options that might increase the likelihood of young people coming into contact with the criminal justice system.

Dr James Windle, a lecturer in criminology at University College Cork, said prohibition has worked “to a point” and has kept drug use at a relatively low level. Drugs remain more expensive and scarce here than if they were legal but that depends on age, location and the drug involved, he said.

There is evidence that the severity of punishment has little impact on behaviour, especially for a young person where drug use is valued by their peers, he said. New synthetic drugs are changing the market and we need to be prepared for that, he added.

During workshops, the assembly considered five possible approaches to criminal justice and legislative issues, ranging from keeping or adjusting the status quo to decriminalisation and legalisation.

A fifth meeting will be held later this month and the sixth and final meeting in October will see a ballot of members after which their report will be finalised, including recommendations on any changes to Ireland’s drug laws.

In closing the meeting, assembly chairman Paul Reid said some good change and innovation is happening, including in rehabilitation services and the drugs court, and there is “a real opportunity” to scale these up.

He noted the “huge frustration” within the assembly that measures such as the Health Diversion Programme, agreed by the then government in 2019, which allows gardaí to divert those caught with drugs to the health system, has not yet been implemented.

“It is one thing for drugs to cause harm but if the policy, and lack of change to it or delay in doing so is causing harm, that is inexcusable,” he said. “The legislation must be progressed urgently. That should be the absolute baseline to build our recommendations on.”