The Government had to "get real" about drugs as research proves zero-tolerance policies have no chance of working, a US expert on drugs policy said today.
The first annual conference on homeless and drug use was also told it is time the State faced up to the fact that society will never be free of drug abuse.
Mr Ethan Nadelmann, Director of the US based Drugs Policy Foundation, was one of practicioners and policy makers gathered at Dublin Castle today for the two-day conference hosted by Merchant's Quay Ireland in association with the Homeless Agency and the Combat Poverty Agency.
"Drugs are here to stay. There has almost never been a drug free society in the history of human civilisation and there is no reason to expect one in the future," Mr Nadelmann said later on RTÉ.
Citing the Netherlands, Switzerland and Britain as models, he said society needed to take the drug market out of the hands of criminals.
The real issue, he said, is not if people abuse drugs but how society can reduce the death, disease, crime and suffering associated with drug use.
Minister for Housing and Drug Strategy, Mr Noel Ahern, told the conference: "Given the growing incidence of drug misuse among homeless people, there is a need for services and facilities that cater for their particular needs."
According to recent figures there are between 13,000 to 15,000 drug users in the greater Dublin area. It is estimated that homelessness affects at least 10,000 people in the Republic.
The Minister Ahern said a variety of interventions and measures were needed to tackle the problem. "There is no single drug problem with one clear-cut solution," he said.