Sir, – As the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs gets under way, I feel it is a good time to point out the irony in the term we use for illicit drugs. We call these “controlled” substances when they are in fact the exact opposite.
Currently, we have a farcical system where we pontificate about the harms of drugs and drug gangs, while ignoring that we have no control of any aspect of the illegal drugs market because of prohibition.
Ironically, the arguments that prohibitionists make for keeping drugs illegal are the same reasons why we need to look at proper regulation, including regulation of drugs to take back control from drug gangs; regulation of drugs to control the strength of various drugs (harm reduction); regulation of drugs to reduce stigmatisation of drug users, making them more likely to seek help if they develop a problem; and regulation of drugs to enable proper research of substances like cannabis and psilocybin to gain proper data into potential benefits and harms.
What is constantly lost in the conversation is the harms that prohibition itself causes. We talk about the direct link between drug users and gangs but never the direct link between prohibition policies and drug harms. I hope the Citizens’ Assembly can consider this in their deliberations. – Yours, etc,
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AOIFE HEGARTY,
Cork.