Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members]

Deputy Gino Kenny

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am sharing time with Deputies Murphy and Boyd Barrett. I thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, for its assistance with this Bill. Even though it is a very short Bill, the office did a lot of work to determine its permissibility and found it legally permissible under many stipulations of law, including European law. It found that, if there was political will, this could be legislated for. That is important to note. I welcome our esteemed guests from all parts of the world to the Public Gallery. Many people here have shown great commitment on this issue. This debate has gone on for decades. In my living memory, the default position of the State has always been to continue to criminalise and incarcerate people for drug use. Whatever one believes as to the moral and ethical issues around drug use, we have had six decades of this.

Ireland has one of the highest drug-related death rates in Europe. Our prisons are overflowing with addiction issues and the drug industry. We would think that after six decades of failure things would have moved on. The debate has evolved, and I include myself in this. Most people are more educated, informed and enlightened about what has gone before and what needs to happen now. As I have said previously, imprisoning, criminalising and stigmatising people does not work. We have seen that in other jurisdictions. It is important to move on.

Many people are questioning the logic of our anti-drug laws. They were written in the 1970s when the war on drugs was in its full throes. If we scratch the surface, we see that the war on drugs was concentrated on racism and class with regard to poor people and people of colour. This is for another debate at another time. I am glad that public opinion has progressed and moved on. People do not have the hang-ups that others have in relation to discriminating against people. The citizens' assembly has projected that we need to move on from the status quo because it simply does not work. The citizens' assembly has made many recommendations, including non-legislative recommendations about treatment and how we approach the issue. It also made a fundamental stance on criminalising people. In order to act on this the law has to be changed. It is as simple as that. That is the way our party and many others see it.

As well as the citizens' assembly making its recommendations on stopping criminalising people, 15 months ago the justice committee published a very good report which is a damning indictment of our criminal justice system and continuously criminalising people. My interpretation, and that of many others, is that it advocated a different model and approach to drug use and misuse. We all understand this. It went further on stopping criminalising people and looked at various models and jurisdictions.

To get on to what the Bill is about, it is very moderate. I and my party are the first to say this. We hope it is a precursor to full regulation of cannabis. It is a moderate Bill on the simple possession of up to 7 g of cannabis for personal use. People have asked me why it is 7 g. If we look at Luxemburg and Malta they have stipulated 7 g. It is a small amount for simple possession. If this were legislated for tomorrow, somebody with that amount of cannabis would not be prosecuted and would not have to go through the criminal justice system. We would think this would make sense but sometimes sense goes out the door.

The adult caution scheme was introduced in 2020. It is extremely arbitrary and at the discretion of individual gardaí regarding those they may find in possession of a small amount of drugs. Since 2020 the number of people charged and brought through the criminal justice system has exploded. It has not reduced. It has increased to more than 6,500 people being brought to court for simple possession. It is very arbitrary. Do individual gardaí use their discretion? In most cases they do not. It should not be up to an individual garda; the law on simple possession should change. This is what the Bill is about and what the citizens' assembly has made recommendations on. It is very arbitrary.

People being brought before a criminal court for a small amount of drugs does not work. If somebody can tell me how it does work, I am all ears. We have been all ears for the past six decades and it does not work. A better system is decriminalisation of the person. We are remaining in the paradigm of drugs being illegal. We are not talking about making things legal in the Bill. We are talking about the decriminalisation of the person and this is important.

The elephant in the room is the black market, which is very profitable. The people who control the black market are criminal gangs which are very violent. They use all sorts of intimidation in communities throughout the country. Largely they control the black market. We have this ridiculous system in place whereby drugs that supposed to be controlled by the State are controlled by the black market. Why allow this to happen? Why let this vacuum continue to exist?

The Bill is very moderate. I understand the Government has tabled a timed amendment, which is very disappointing. The ink is hardly dry on the citizens' assembly's report and the Government is saying there needs to be a timed amendment on this. This is a test of the will of the Government on this issue. I am not naive; I know that members of the Government are bitterly opposed to the recommendations of the citizens' assembly. They want the status quo to continue. Even today, a number of doctors have come out with disinformation about the Bill we have tabled. The Bill is not about legalisation; it is about decriminalising a person who chooses to use cannabis. These doctors have equated 7 g of cannabis with four bottles of vodka. Hold on. Four bottles of vodka would kill you and not only you but your family as well. They are equating 7 g of cannabis with four bottles of vodka. Are they joking? Are they serious? This is the level of discourse and debate we are up against.

These doctors want the status quo to continue. This is what they are saying. The status quo does not work. The citizens' assembly and the justice committee have stipulated that the status quo does not work. The interpretation most of us got from the citizen's assembly is that things need to move on through non-legislative measures and legislative change regarding the Misuse of Drugs Act. This is where it is all at regarding the legislation. Regarding what these doctors have stated, the Bill is not anti-health by any means. We are pro-people. Anti-drugs laws are anti-people and they have always been so. Incarcerating, criminalising and stigmatising people are what the past six decades have been all about. We want to dismantle this and give people choice. We want to stop stigmatising and marginalising people and give them a right to exist without criminal sanction. This is what the Bill is about.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I thank Deputy Kenny for all the work he has done on this issue and on the Bill. I also thank those who have gone before him, including Ming Flanagan who is in the Gallery. I also thank all the campaigners, many of whom are here. They have been pushing on this issue for a long time, trying to get us in the direction of social progress.

I have been here almost ten years, incredibly, and I have learned a thing or two about how the establishment politicians react to questions of social changes. There seem to be truisms that are always the case. One is that they lag behind the population. Another is that if the opportunity presents itself to kick the can down the road, they will take it and kick that can as far as they possibly can. Another is that they adopt the language of change and progress well before, if ever, they adopt policies that represent progress and change. Unfortunately, all of these are on display in the reaction of the Government and will be on display in the course of the debate.

It is clear the people are ahead of the politicians; that is what the citizens' assembly showed. The citizens' assembly was clear about a proper health-led approach and about decriminalisation. It came within one vote of recommending the legalisation of cannabis, which would be the right thing to do to take this out of the control of criminal gangs and to have proper State control, regulation and so on. It was very clear about decriminalisation, yet the State and the politicians are dragging their heels.

The second thing relates to kicking the can down the road, which is what the Government plans to do with this Bill. There is going to be a timed amendment and the Government is going to say, very reasonably, that because we have the citizens' assembly and need to take time to consider it, we should just delay this issue and say the Bill will pass in nine months. Another thing that will happen in nine months is a general election, or it may be in ten months, 11 months or, at most, in 13 months. The Government's amendment, therefore, if it passes, will guarantee that the Bill will not pass before there is an election and a new government. That is what the Government’s amendment is about. It is to avoid taking a decision. All we are asking for is that the Government would take the decision, in principle, to say we are going to decriminalise the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use. It is a tiny step in the direction in which we need to go. It is nowhere near even the implementation of the full citizens' assembly recommendations. It is about agreeing in principle that this is the direction in which we should go, yet the Government wants to kick the can down the road and not do it.

Third, there is the rhetoric. It is interesting, and it is a sign of the pressure the Government is under, that for the past two years or so, if you ask about drugs in this Chamber, the Government will say it is in favour of a health-led approach. It has got the idea that that is the language to use, but there is no aspect of a health-led approach in what the Government actually does. A health-led approach has two aspects, namely, stopping the criminalising of people for taking drugs and investing in health services, in tackling inequality, deprivation and trauma, in addiction services and in the health services to deal with problem drug use, abuse and addiction, but that is also not happening. The Government just has the language of a health-led approach while continuing with a war on drugs and a criminalisation-type approach, proven by the fact there were more than 12,000 recorded offences for the possession of an illicit drug for personal use in 2022. The possession of an illicit drug for personal use accounted for 70% of all drug offences in 2022.

This was summed up by Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste, when he was asked recently about an injection centre in Cork. He made some positive noises about being open to it, but he then raised what I think was meant to be some sort of profound question about the ethics of the State doing this and about whether the State would be responsible for what happened to people if they took drugs in an injection centre authorised by the State. It was just complete nonsense. He has to know it is complete nonsense. It has nothing to do with a health-led approach. Of course there would be no obligation or legal liability on the State, but again, it is just obfuscation, sitting on the fence and avoiding taking the change.

To come to the basics, this is a question as to whether we continue down the road of a failed war on drugs or recognise the reality that we will not stop people taking drugs as a result of criminalisation and, instead, we need to invest in the services, in tackling inequality and so on to make sure we allow people to take drugs in a safe manner if they choose to do so while minimising the dangers of drug abuse and drug addiction. We need to pass the Bill and reject the Government amendment.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I commend Deputy Gino Kenny on his leadership on this critical issue in our society. The lack of leadership and courage on the part of the Government is depressing. Yet again, it wants to kick down the road a key issue of social change and the recognition of social reality, instead of doing the right thing. This is especially the case given the citizens' assembly has made the recommendations.

On the wider issue, we are clear about this and straight up. We believe in the legalisation and regulation of drugs because we think criminalisation has failed disastrously. It has done far more damage to our society than would legalising and regulating drugs properly, and it is doing it every day. It is criminalising huge numbers of young people, effectively whole generations of young people, and doing particular damage to some of the poorest and most deprived communities and to people who are medically vulnerable, such as people with mental health issues and so on. It is doing extraordinary damage and, critically, it has spawned a massive, violent criminal underground that is a direct result of criminalisation. It is so obvious that if we criminalise something that huge numbers of our population do, whether we like that thing or not, at a stroke all those people will become criminals. Some of them will end up in court or in prison, taking up enormous volumes of police and court resources. Even those who do not end up in court are operating in a criminal underworld, vulnerable to the criminals who run it, and all that goes with that.

I do not know what the Government is going to say in response to this. No doubt, it will say there can be negative consequences of drug use, such as addiction, impacts on mental health and so on. I do not claim to be an expert, but I do not think there is a single point the Government could make about the adverse negative impacts of cannabis use that it could not say ten times over about alcohol use, which does far more damage to our society. It would be a foolish government indeed that thought the answer to the problems of alcohol abuse, whether violence, domestic abuse or addiction, was to criminalise it. Of course, that was tried and it was a disaster. It led directly to the growth of the Mafia and the criminal underworld in the United States, for which the United States is still paying a very bitter price.

Indeed, whatever we may think about it, criminalisation glamorises drug use as being part of a sort of mysterious criminal underworld. It is directly counterproductive. Even if your objective is to reduce drug use - certainly, all of us have the objective of reducing drug harm and addiction - it is directly counterproductive. It makes the situation far worse. It stigmatises people, and it leaves people with criminal records that impact on the rest of their lives in many cases, limits their life choices and so on. Indeed, we could say many of the same things about prescription drugs, which are regulated. It makes no sense whatsoever, and the Government should cop on, show a bit of moral political leadership and allow this very modest Bill.

We hope we can also open up the wider debate. The strategy of criminalisation and, frankly, of political cowardice has been a disastrous failure. Working-class areas, in particular although not exclusively, have paid a bitter price for the criminalisation approach this Government and previous Governments have followed. It has to end. The Government has to wake up to reality.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following:

"Dáil Éireann resolves that the Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months, so as to allow sufficient time for the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs to be considered by the Oireachtas.".

I welcome the opportunity to update the Oireachtas with regard to drug policy and to highlight the progress made on implementing the national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery. As we are all aware, the misuse of illicit drugs affects every part of society, whether urban or rural, disadvantaged or affluent.

The misuse of drugs has devastating consequences for not only the individual grappling with addiction, but also for their families and the communities in which they live.

We are all aware of the consequences: poor health and mental health outcomes for people in addiction, families torn apart, profiteering by unscrupulous gangs from the misery of others and drug-related intimidation in communities. I appreciate there are many challenges, but as Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, I am committed to building on the progress already made. I have long held the view that we as a society have needed to have an open and honest conversation about drugs. Ensuring that the voices of those with lived experience and the voices of young people are heard is key to putting in place an appropriate response.

As the House is aware, last year the Government established the citizens' assembly to consider and make recommendations on the legislative, policy and operation changes the State could make to significantly reduce the harmful impact of illicit drugs on individuals, their families, communities and wider society. The report of the citizens' assembly was published last week and makes 36 recommendations, including that the State introduces a comprehensive health-led response to drugs.

This is a landmark report to assist in the further development of policy on drug use in Ireland. Choosing to have a citizens’ assembly on drug use demonstrates the seriousness and gravity that the Government gives to this issue and its awareness of the impact of drugs on all corners and sections of society. It also began the open and honest conversation that has been so badly needed and which will continue now in the Oireachtas special committee. There is an onus now on the Government to consider the deliberations of the citizens' assembly in order that it can enhance the response to drug use from a policy, legislative and service delivery perspective. I am committed to leading on this response. I will actively engage with Government colleagues and Oireachtas Members on the response to this report.

But as we can see from the assembly’s report, drug misuse is a complex issue. There are no easy or straightforward solutions. Clearly, we need more services to be provided and greater efforts must be made to prevent the use of drugs. That is why, in 2024, I am providing an additional €6 million for drug services to implement the national drugs strategy. This brings the total new spend on drug services to €11.75 million since 2023. I also last year launched the first national drug prevention and education programme, which will fund five demonstration projects in school, community and nighttime social settings.

People grappling with addiction face different challenges. Some may have the support of family, others may not. Some may be in employment while others struggle to secure a job because of the nature of their illness. Access to education can also be an issue. The nature of addiction is different for each affected person. For example, there are people who not only have an addiction to drugs but who also struggle with their mental health. I have secured funding this year to help these people with a dual diagnosis, with a particular focus on younger people.

While I have secured additional funding to provide more treatment episodes for those in need, we know there are gaps in service provision. That is why I have asked that an audit of services be completed in order that we can ensure services are available where they are most needed. Just because someone has received treatment does not mean they are in a position to lead a happy and productive life. That is why we are investing for the first time in recovery. The Government is committed to taking a health-led approach to the use of illicit drugs in line with the recommendations set out by the citizens’ assembly report. Nothing is served by jailing a person in addiction caught with drugs for personal use. That is why I am committed to introducing the health diversion programme, which will connect people suffering from problematic drug use with the health services they need and will provide a pathway to treatment and recovery.

Harm reduction is a key component of the health-led approach to drug use. That is why people can submit drugs at festivals for testing as part of a range of harm reduction initiatives under the safer nightlife programme, thereby helping people to avoid particularly risky drugs. That is why a medically supervised injecting facility will open this year to provide a safe space for people to inject drugs. It is why the building and operation of the new 100-bed medical and addiction facility developed by the Dublin Simon Community is being funded by the Government.

I thank Deputy Kenny for bringing forward the Private Members' Bill. I note that the Bill proposes to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to enable a person who is at least 18 years of age to have possession for the person’s personal use of either or both cannabis and cannabis resin that in each case does not exceed a specified amount and to provide for related matters. It is important that this proposal should be considered in the context of recommendation No. 17 from the citizens’ assembly, which is that the State introduces a comprehensive health-led response to drugs. This recommendation assumes that possession of controlled drugs would remain illegal, while those found in possession of drugs for personal use could be afforded extensive opportunities to engage with health-led services. Depending on how the legislation is designed, this approach would minimise or potentially completely remove the possibility of criminal conviction and prison sentences for simple possession.

The citizens’ assembly advises that there are several open questions about how Ireland might best legislate for a health-led model combining diversion, decriminalisation and dissuasion. Given the important legal and constitutional issues to be considered, it is the responsibility of the Oireachtas, informed by legal advice and detailed pre-legislative scrutiny, to determine the most appropriate legal mechanisms to achieve this goal. The recommendations of the citizens’ assembly will now be considered by the Oireachtas. It is anticipated that an Oireachtas special committee will be established to consider these recommendations and to agree on the most appropriate next steps.

In this context, debating the Bill at this stage could undermine the work of an Oireachtas special committee. In light of the above, it is the Government’s view that this Bill is premature and should be deferred for a period of nine months. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Deputy Mick Barry

The Bill is not premature; it is way overdue. The majority of people in Irish society, of young people, know that that is the case. In any event, we will move on and debate some of the issues here.

We are debating a very modest proposal, which is to decriminalise possession of cannabis for personal use. We are talking about small amounts. The Bill stipulates 7 g of cannabis or 2.5 g of cannabis resin. The average joint would be in and around half a gram. This gives the House an idea of what we are talking about.

I will repeat a point raised in the debate earlier, which is that in 2022, there were 12,136 recorded offences for possession of an illicit drug for personal use, which constituted 70% of all drug offences. For a large number of those offences which related to cannabis possession, let us think a little bit about what has happened here. First, when a person comes before the court and is found guilty under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the normal thing would not be a conviction straight off the bat. Most judges on most days will ask for a donation to be made to the charity box. What would this donation be? Donations are not small and could be €400 or €500, which would be a week's take-home pay for many young workers. You avoid a criminal record if you are prepared to cough up the bobs. You might not be so lucky if you had bought and shared the drug with other people, for example, even if you shared the drug with your partner. There was a court case related to that recently. Certainly, if you had bought what was not a large quantity of the drug but you had given or sold it to your friends, not as a big time drug dealer or anything like that, on a given day a judge might consider that in a more serious light and might convict.

What does a conviction mean for people in that situation? For one thing, it will certainly affect their employment prospects. There are many companies that simply are not going to hire you. No way. It can affect someone’s chances of travel and to get a visa to travel to another country. I will give one example that is nearby. In the Gallery today, we have Martin from Cork. Martin campaigns for sensible drug policy and for the legalisation of cannabis. He would be seen as an authoritative spokesperson for that point of view. As such, he was to attend the United Nations special assembly on narcotics in 2016. He could not do it. Why? Because he could not get a visa to get into the United States because of the drugs conviction he had because of our antiquated laws. And that is before I even talk about the effect a conviction might have on the mental health of a person.

What happens before a person ends up in the court? He or she has been stopped and searched. We do not know how many people have been stopped and searched in any given year. The Garda does not make a log of all the searches that take place. The Central Statistics Office has criticised the quality of the data that the Garda has in these instances. Receipts are issued but only when drugs are found, so how many stop and searches do we have in this State in any given year? If in excess of 12,000 people is the number of recorded offences, there will have been plenty of stop and searches where no drugs were found or were to be found. If, for example, there are two searches for every one that becomes a recorded offence, that would be 24,000 stop and searches. If there are three, it would be 36,000; and if there are five, then there would be 60,000 searches. I cannot back up this up with statistics, because the Garda does not provide the statistics, but I know it to be the case that a disproportionate number of people of colour are stopped and searched, particularly young people, as are a disproportionate number of people from lower-income working-class areas. This has to be part of the debate. There is no comparison with the numbers of stopping and searching that goes on in middle-class areas, including middle-class areas that might not be too far away.

How much Garda time and how much of the State's resources are spent with this nonsensical around-the-mulberry-bush game? The garda has to stop the person and search the person. The garda has to go back to the station and do the paperwork. When the file comes back from the DPP, there is more paperwork to be done. The garda has to send out correspondence, which might be a registered letter or it could be calling to the home and delivering and if the person is not there, the garda might have to call a second time. That is before we even look at the court time. The idea that a garda steps into a court at 10 a.m., the case is heard and he is out the gap by 10.30 a.m. might happen but I would say it is rare enough. It would be quite common to spend a morning in court and not uncommon to spend a day in court. You might want to argue that those resources stay with the Garda but I think that if you had community control over the Garda, that is, democratic control over the Garda by communities, they would get rid of that nonsense and say there are far more valuable things the Garda could be doing to provide a service in their community. If you wanted the resources not to be with the Garda but to be with the State, what could be done on investment in mental health services, youth workers and social workers with the money and time that is wasted in that exercise?

I deliberately have not gone into medicinal arguments too much because the arguments are broader than that. The medicinal arguments are still very much part of this debate, however. In a district court in west Cork earlier this year a 64 year old man, a multiple cancer survivor who had experienced organ failure and had both hips and a knee replaced and who had suffered a stroke came in front of the court for growing cannabis and possession of cannabis. At one stage this man had been 13 stone or 14 stone. Because of the illnesses he was down to 7 stone at one point. A person he knew gave him some cannabis. They told him it would give him the munchies and get his weight back up. He tried it one night and woke up in the middle of the night. He said he was hungry enough to eat a horse. The weight went back up. It was a very useful thing for that person. The man was fined €300. He was given a three-month suspended sentence and subject to random testing, I stand to be corrected, but I think for the next three years. It is certainly for a significant time. In other words, if he uses cannabis again, he is off to jail. We have Ministers coming in here saying that the State needs to take a health-led approach but that is what is going on while these clichés are being trotted out.

The war on drugs has not worked. It is a complete failure. We need to legalise and have democratic control over drugs supply. We need to legalise cannabis. The people who argue against it say it is a gateway drug and if you start taking cannabis you will be onto heroin and who-knows-what next. There is no medical argument to back that up but there is a social argument. You buy your cannabis from your drug dealer. He sells it to you this week or this month; next year, he asks would you like to try something else. It is the Government’s policy and the State’s policy which makes cannabis a gateway drug. This is an important issue. It should not be kicked down the road. We should vote for this to go ahead tonight.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Michael Ring)

We move to Sinn Féin and Deputies Daly, Gould, Ó Laoghaire, Martin Browne, Paul Donnelly, Ward and Ó Murchú. I ask that they all mind their own time because when the time is up, it is up. I am telling them that before they start.

Deputy Pa Daly

I thank People Before Profit for introducing this Bill. Clearly, a new way is needed for the State’s drug policy. A report of the justice committee last year recommended a policy of decriminalisation be pursued in line with emerging international best practice in respect of the possession of drugs for personal consumption through appropriate legislative reform in favour of a health-led approach to problem drug use. The final report of the citizens’ assembly was split. It does not go so far as to call for possession to be totally decriminalised or for the repeal of the Misuse of Drugs Act but it gives a decision back to the Oireachtas saying that possession of controlled drugs would remain illegal, changes are likely to be required to the Misuse of Drugs Act in conjunction with the enhanced use of probation, etc. and that new legislation may also be required. In my view, an overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act is probably necessary. The recommendation continues that the citizens assembly “views it as the responsibility of the Oireachtas, informed by legal advice and detailed pre-legislative scrutiny, to determine the most appropriate legal mechanisms to achieve this goal".

My personal view is the consequences of criminalising mostly younger men is vastly disproportionate to the act which has led to the charge. Potentially career-ending consequences and limitations on travel from even a charge which is unproven or does not result in a conviction being applied is not the fairest or most just way to deal with people smoking cannabis. I saw in my own career people being charged with pieces left on a grinder, traces of cannabis of less than even 1 g. My experience has been that this system often led to young, often vulnerable men, being pressurised into providing information on potentially dangerous individuals to avoid a charge or conviction. This, at least, causes further stress. There was mention of the powers under the Misuse of Drugs Act in relation to detention. There can be no other conclusion but that it is often used in a random fashion. For years, the offence of simple possession was excluded from the adult caution scheme but even since it was included, the amount of charges remain high. My figures are that there were 5,900 for 2021. I had not seen the 2022 figures but I would be interested in looking at those.

However, at the same time, I have met people - family members - who say that as a result of taking drugs and with the increased potency of cannabis, there is a danger to young people, again, particularly to young men. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot succeed.

The Bill proposes to amend section 3 to make the possession of up to 7 g of cannabis lawful provided that the circumstances are such that a reasonable inference can be drawn that the drugs are for the personal use of the individual. Section 3 of this Bill places the burden of proof, strangely, on the defendant then rather than the State. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down other laws that placed the onus of proof on the defendant so it is a very tricky area. Placing the onus on the defendants means that they will obviously be already before the court and may be obliged to give evidence. Any further inroads into the right to silence should be approached with extreme caution.

However, the amount of 7 g suggested seems comparable with international norms. Malta, for instance, uses a similar yardstick but what is more problematic may be the reasonable inference. Could it be more prudent for the Bill to provide that no prosecution would be initiated or maintained if the amount was below a certain threshold and there is no evidence the person is dealing, rather than saying that it shall be lawful? Is this apropos of the defence or of a request or command to the DPP not to prosecute? This can all be teased out later.

One suggestion is that no proceedings should be brought and another suggestion is that in proceedings relating to this amount, the onus would be on the defendant to prove something. Another potential issue is that in one section of the Bill to amend section 3 refers to a person over the age of 18 years so how does it apply to somebody who is 17?

The Bill is clearly not the finished product. Sinn Féin has approached this debate with an open mind to see if the issues, both positive and negative, can be teased out on Committee Stage. A special Oireachtas committee has been recommended. As legislators it is now our job to listen to the decision of the citizen's assembly and to implement solutions. At this point there are wider considerations than just criminal law and my colleagues, Deputies Gould and Ward, have also undertaken extensive work in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation and the treatment of addiction. The current legislative framework is far from perfect but we need to see health impact and other assessments.

Deputy Thomas Gould

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. I understand that the Bill addresses many of the issues that extend beyond addiction and these have been well addressed by Deputy Daly. As the Sinn Féin spokesman on addiction, recovery and well-being, I feel it is vitally important to speak for those in the sector who are actively experiencing the harmful impacts of addiction - both individuals in active addiction and their loved ones, and their communities.

Addiction services in this State, at government level, have stalled. While those on the ground work tirelessly, we are faced with funding for task forces that does not even match 2010 levels. The three largest cities have no supervised injection facilities. Research undertaken by my office indicates that we have a shortage of 558 residential treatment beds, 93 detox beds and 161 step-down beds. These gaps are leaving people waiting for more than six months for treatment in some cases and despite the huge work being done by those in the sector, the Government is allowing people to fall through the cracks.

It is Sinn Féin’s belief that a health-led approach to addiction means closing the gap and providing funding for localised, responsive services. We believe that Fine Gael will never make these changes and that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have turned a blind eye to the addiction sector and their huge failings. All of this happened under austerity and it is still here today.

For too long, those in addiction, their families and communities have been the black sheep of society. We believe the Bill should have given people an opportunity to discuss it but the Government's amendment to kick it down the road and prevent this conversation and votes from taking place is wrong. My final point is that if we are really serious about change, we must fund addiction services and rehabilitation services because if we do not fund them, those in addiction and recovery will not get the supports they need.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity and all of those who worked with them to bring forward this Bill. It is a reasonable proposition and worthy of discussion. I welcome the fact that we can have a discussion on it. Sinn Féin will not oppose this Bill. We think it should proceed to Committee Stage and we have long called for an increased emphasis on harm reduction in this area. My colleagues, Deputies Gould and Ward, have undertaken extensive work in the fields of mental health, rehabilitation and the treatment of addiction. We want to see a health-led approach to drug addiction. It serves no one, neither the individual who is caught in addiction or society itself, to treat this person as a criminal. The knock-on effects this has include restricting an individual from future employment opportunities, stigmatisation and clogging up the criminal justice system. The amount that is being discussed here is quite small at 7 g. In such a context if we are talking about a health-led approach, it is at this level that we should look at it. As a society, we need to change our approaches. It is a discussion that is happening. Delaying the Bill does not serve anyone. Sinn Féin supported the establishment of the citizen's assembly on drugs and notes its recommendations for a wider health-based approach moving away from the use of an overburdened criminal justice system. We do not want to see people criminalised and jailed for possession of very small amounts of drugs for their personal use.

We are also conscious of the fact that many communities we represent are burdened by exploitative, parasitic criminal gangs at times. That is the case in our major cities and across the country. A balance needs to be struck in this regard. We do not want to see that any legislation would be open to exploitation by criminal gangs.

However, the focus of this legislation is on the individual and not seeing them brought before the courts unnecessarily, with that having huge implications for the rest of their lives. Indeed, it spills into things such as housing applications. As Deputy Daly identified, there are provisions that need to be teased out in the legislation and I also note the point made by Deputies Daly and Gould that the legislation cannot deal with all the issues. Beyond the legislation, therefore, the shortfall in rehabilitation beds needs to be addressed seriously. The technical issues raised by Deputy Daly are worthy of attention but can be dealt with on Committee Stage and should not be delayed.

Deputy Martin Browne

I thank Deputy Gino Kenny for bringing this Bill forward. Progressive Bills enable us to have a debate in which we consider drug use and possession of various kinds in our society are to be welcomed. It is clear that the current response to drug use and drug possession needs reform. How that reform is approached and structured is complex and has a fundamental importance from health, rehabilitation and criminal justice viewpoints.

The Bill focuses on a particular aspect of reforming the current system and that is to allow for the legal possession of no more than a specific amount of cannabis or cannabis resin. When he introduced the Bill, Deputy Kenny referred to having a mature discussion on this and was critical of the criminalisation of people for the possession small amounts of drugs. I agree with him that both these points need to be addressed. As a party, we do not want to see people criminalised and jailed for possession of small amounts of drugs for their personal use, especially in light of the implications this can have from a personal perspective, as well as on the criminal justice system. That is the value of the debates prompted by Bills such as this and, of course, by the convening of forums such as the Citizen's Assembly on Drugs Use, which, incidentally, recommended a health-based approach be taken, moving away from the use of an overburdened criminal justice system.

The Government has tabled an amendment to defer progressing this Bill until the House has had the opportunity to consider the report of the Citizen's Assembly on Drugs Use. Frankly, given the fact that open discussion very much prevails in light of the citizens’ assembly and its report, and in anticipation of the establishment of a special Oireachtas committee, I do not really see the point in delaying a particular discussion or debate when it is so relevant.

These are discussions that need to happen. Drug policy needs to be informed through research, debate, drawing on the experience and often open discussion. Delaying Bills such as this stifles that debate. Specifically on this Bill, there are issues that need to be examined in the justice and health areas, and we need to examine the experience of other jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalised.

I would like to see this Bill given further scrutiny at committee level, but in light of the Government's amendment, it appears the Bill will be delayed, which is regrettable, as the progress that is being made in the examination of current and future drugs policy should not be interrupted by delaying Bills like this.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

I also thank Deputy Gino Kenny for bringing forward this Bill. I know I have said this before, but it needs to be said again and again that the so-called war on drugs has failed utterly to achieve its objectives and has caused untold damage to our communities. How do we know? It is because we see it on our streets and in our communities, pubs and clubs. In fact, pretty much anywhere we go there are signs of drugs use. I am not talking about the most devastating, destructive and abused drug in our country, the legal drug of alcohol. I note the earlier comments about the attempt to criminalise that many years ago.

I am disappointed the Government has decided to kick the can further down the road. We need to move forward now and debate, discuss, and tease out what it means and how this approach actually impacts on our communities on the ground. I look forward to that debate. I also look forward to a radical change in our approach to the use of drugs in this State. There are things that we can do now to support our communities. We can put the community back in its rightful place as a core member of the drugs strategy and end the isolation of the community sector in the national drugs strategy. We can ensure that those delivering the health-led services are fully resourced to deal with problematic drug use. Many of those projects on the front line have still not recovered from the devastating effects of the cuts during the austerity years. We can resource our mental health services for people with mental health issues. I have no doubt that the increased potency of weed that is being sold to very young people is having a serious effect on their mental health.

We believe that while we have some specific concerns, as outlined by Deputy Daly, the Bill should be allowed to proceed to allow the committee to give it further scrutiny. The time for discussing the Bill is now. As we saw in the debates in the citizens' assembly, there is very strong support for a different approach that is health-led, and a change in legislation on how we deal with people and the fact that they are criminalised and jailed for the possession of a relatively small amount of drugs. I urge the Government to change its opinion on this and to allow the Bill to move forward so that we can deal with the issue as a country and in communities in a proper way.

Deputy Mark Ward

I thank my constituency colleague, Deputy Gino Kenny, for the opportunity to discuss this issue. I also want to add my disappointment to that of other speakers at the fact that the Government has kicked this Bill down the road and denied us the opportunity to discuss it further on Committee Stage. We could have heard about the consequences and positives of the Bill in a more balanced way.

For too long, many young people have been convicted simply for the possession of cannabis, which can lead to a lifetime of effects, be it for travel or employment. Young people from disadvantaged areas are disproportionately affected by cannabis use. The citizens' assembly did not call for the legalisation of cannabis. It stated that while the possession of cannabis would remain illegal, people found in possession would be afforded the opportunity to engage with health-led services. While, in theory, this approach is very similar to the Portuguese model and it could work, if it was introduced tomorrow, it would not work in practice. The reason for this is underfunding by successive Governments of addiction and rehabilitation services.

l have worked in front-line addiction services across Dublin, and I have seen at first-hand how difficult it is for the services I have managed and worked in to access the funding our communities vitally need. There is also a narrative that cannabis is a harmless drug with little or no short-term consequences. In one drug service I managed, which was visited by Deputy Ó Ríordáin when he was the Minister of State with responsibility for drugs, the majority of people accessing the service were young men between the ages of 16 and 25. Many had left school, lost jobs, become involved in criminality, lost family relationships and owed a huge amount in drug debts. This was very similar to the heroin epidemic in the 1980s, but this time the only drug these young people were using was cannabis. Cannabis has been modified over the years to increase the THC level and reduce the CBD level, which has led to increased potency and a range of negative impacts, including on mental health. We have seen many young people experience psychosis for the first time because of the potency of cannabis. These issues, and others, could have been discussed on Committee Stage, but the Government has kicked the Bill down the road and denied us the opportunity to do so.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

It is fair to say that we have at least agreement on one issue, which is that the war on drugs has been an abject failure. I recall that there was a period in Dundalk a couple of years ago when, following cuts to Garda funding, we did not have a drug squad and then the drug squad was suddenly in operation again. In fairness, no one is going to have a problem when action is taken against dangerous criminals that have our communities in serious bother and under serious pressure. They have their foot on their neck. I remember a former superintendent saying how brilliant it would be if he had 50 or 100 guards working specifically on drugs. Then he turned around and asked if we could show him a place where policing has actually worked and we have been able to out-police this. That is the logic of where we are at.

It is a failure that we are not allowing this legislation to go forward and that we do not have a real conversation. We can talk about a health-led strategy and a harm-reduction strategy but we need to enact it at some point in time. That is not to take away from the fact that there are issues with cannabis and the increased levels of THC. We have seen the issues in regard to psychosis and we have also seen that the State and services do not allow for dual diagnosis for mental health services so people are kept on the outside. We have no means of dealing with people when they are in disastrous circumstances. We are also dealing with the reality of the fact that all these drugs are being dealt – cannabis, cocaine, and whatever else. We have to look at all of it. We know that the people who suffer the most are those in working-class areas. We know there is a significant overlap with poverty that needs to be addressed. We also know that a huge amount of the money that goes to drug gangs actually comes from middle-class people who take cocaine. We need different solutions across the board in regard to all of this and to the funding of addiction services. The Minister met with the Family Addiction Support Network in Dundalk, which is supported by the Garda but is facing closure. Turas needed to self-fund its own dual-diagnosis project. The Red Door Project in Drogheda has also been under significant pressure. We need to get real. In fairness to Deputy Gino Kenny, when he spoke about the 4 l of vodka, not only would that kill you, but it is legal to take it down the street at the moment. We all know that nobody should take drugs and a lot of us would probably be better off if we did not take alcohol.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

First, I thank Deputy Gino Kenny, who consistently brings this issue to the floor of this House. We need more politicians to show his leadership. I say to those in the Gallery today that they are going to change this country for the better with their advocacy and support for Bills like the one Deputy Kenny has brought today.

I am at this for approximately ten years. Ten years ago I was sat down by Anna Quigley of CityWide, who told me what decriminalisation meant. She said it is not about the decriminalisation of drugs as much as it is about the decriminalisation of people. This debate is really about people more than it is about drugs. For the record, we support this Bill. The Labour Party believes in the decriminalisation of the drug user and the legalisation and regulation of cannabis as well. Why is it about people and why do we not get anywhere? It is because the institutions of the State, those status quo warriors, just do not like the people that this affects. I have often said that if the number of cattle died in Ireland from an overdose at the same rate as people die of drugs, we would have a national conversation. Everything would be shut down and there would be emergency Cabinet meetings.

We just do not like people who take drugs. That is why we do not do anything about it and people can use dehumanising, derogatory terminology about people who take drugs all the time and never be called up on it. Those primarily affected by this issue are disproportionately from lower socioeconomic backgrounds such as migrants, people from the LGBT community and people with disabilities because they are seeking connection. We do not like talking about trauma, hurt or abuse - things inside ourselves for which we find something to use in order to connect. We do not like talking about all those issues. We dehumanise and denigrate those who take drugs and do anything we can to stop the discussion about the person.

Let us talk about the people. It was mentioned that there were 12,000 charges in 2022. That equates to approximately 6,400 people who were put in front of a court and accused by the State for being in possession of something they were going to use themselves. I was Minister of State with responsibility for drugs at one point. I was encouraged to go to the drug court, which was seen as progressive and having a different approach. I went and sat on the back bench. All I saw was a court full of poor, sick people. Poor, sick people do not belong in a courtroom. Some 70% of drug cases in our courts are for possession for personal use. It is a complete and utter waste of Garda time because it is actually about a war on people. It is not a war on drugs; it is a war on people who take drugs. It is a total misunderstanding of the nature of addiction; if we just ban this stuff, people will stop taking it and we will just arrest the people who take it and everything will be fine. Our society and status quo warriors believe they are just not powerful enough to do anything about it. I witnessed it on Saturday. I was walking through town and at the top of Talbot Street, two garda were searching a young fella. In plain sight, they demonstrated to the world that this person had no power and they could do that to him because it was about drugs. It is not actually about the drug;p it is about the person we do not like. That is what it showed me. Here is a newsflash: people in every walk of life, from all over the country, in every income bracket, including in politics, journalism, the Judiciary and the Garda, take drugs but they do not end up in court because this is actually a point about social justice. The people who end up in front of courts are those who society feels do not have power.

This is a discussion about power and people. Do we honestly think we will affect a person's life for the better by giving them a criminal charge? Do we genuinely think giving a young person or a person of any age who is taking something for their own personal use a criminal charge will correct their behaviour? We are more likely to make that person trust the State and its agencies less, separate themselves from the State and find themselves more in the clutches of gangs and the people who peddle this stuff. if I am a young person in his or her late teens or early twenties and I find myself in court, am I going to have a positive view of the Garda, the judicial system and society or will I double down on this behaviour and make a particular life choice at that point?

This policy of criminalisation makes a lot of people rich and a lot of people miserable. It is not working. It only continues to work because the people it affects are disproportionately poorer and less powerful. I know what happens in middle Ireland, where people are horrified by politicians using words such as "decriminalisation". We are actually talking about people. I wish the people horrified by politicians such as Deputies Kenny and Gannon, myself and others who talk about this would realise it is all around them in their communities and families. The hypocrisy of this debate is stunning. Addiction is in every family. The question, fundamentally, is if somebody in their family had an addiction or drug-use issue, and if they love that person, who would they call? Would they ring a garda, counsellor, nurse or doctor first? Clearly, all of us would want to ring somebody who might help and show that person compassion. Let us be clear what the Labour Party wants. We want, when it comes down to it, the legalisation and regularisation of cannabis. Let us realise this drug is an awful lot less harmful than a drug that is perfectly legal, costs the State approximately €3.8 billion a year and is a contributory factor in abuse, violence, drink-driving deaths and antisocial behaviour, that is, alcohol. We need to wise up and think about the people affected by this issue, who heretofore we did not think were powerful enough. The Gallery will demonstrate to all of us just how people affected by or care about this issue are finding their power and voice.

Deputy Gary Gannon

I thank Deputy Kenny for his work on this Bill, his advocacy on the issue and the heart he brings to it. It is incredibly welcome. The Social Democrats will support the Bill. For many years, the Social Democrats have favoured a health-based approach to drugs. That is why we believe a policy of decriminalisation should be pursued in respect of the possession of drugs for personal use. It was welcome that the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use also reflected this position, with, among others, its recommendation that a comprehensive, health-led response should be implemented. It is incumbent on the Government to urgently establish a special Oireachtas committee to examine these recommendations and bring forward legislative proposals. This is not a time for hand-wringing or dithering. Political leadership is required to call a halt to the criminalisation of addiction. We know that turning people with addiction issues into criminals only serves to demonise them and deny them future opportunities. This is particularly true of communities with high levels of deprivation and disadvantage, which are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of drug use. The relationship between poverty and drug-related harms is well-established but it is not enough to just recognise this fact; we must act upon it.

However, while decriminalisation should be part of a radically different approach to drug use, it must be accompanied by a comprehensive plan to tackle poverty and deprivation. Such a plan must include improved community infrastructure to mitigate the negative impacts of poverty and social exclusion. An example of this is front-loading infrastructure when developing housing so that we do not create communities of deprivation. The homelessness crisis is at the sharp end of drug-related issues. Some 11% of drug-related deaths from poisoning in 2020 occurred in homeless accommodation. While this Government may pay lip service to solutions such as the Finnish housing first model, the housing crisis over which it is presiding and fuelling makes it all but impossible to implement them.

With regard to health, while evidence indicates that decriminalisation helps reduce the health risks associated with drug use, it alone cannot achieve a significant reduction. Any legislative change must occur in tandem with a range of other responses. This includes timely and adequate inpatient and outpatient addiction services. Such services must be supportive, not punitive, to allow those who continue to use drugs or relapse to retain access to these services. The lack of mental health supports and services in our communities must also be addressed if we are to tackle the underlying causes of problem drug use. After all, we know that drug use is often just a way of self-medicating to cope with mental health issues and trauma. Harm reduction should also be a key goal of any health-led approach to drug use. While it is welcome that the country’s first medically-supervised drug injection facility has been given the go-ahead, there is no timeline and we need more than one such facility. I acknowledge the sensitivities around location but research from other countries has consistently shown that supervised injection facilities do not make communities more unsafe or lead to increased drug use.

Another area of concern is funding within the community and voluntary sector dealing with drug use. A significant increase in funding for local drug and alcohol task forces is required to meet growing demand for services.

According to local drug and alcohol task force data, between 2012 and 2021, the number of people using its services rose by almost 40%. Further analysis shows that while the numbers in receipt of treatment for alcohol addiction have only increased by 5%, there has been a 60% increase in those undertaking treatment for drugs. Along with more resources, local task forces should have greater input into national policies as they are best placed to identify emerging trends. The crucial role of community drug projects must also be built on. Government should engage with those projects to develop and put in place an efficient, reliable and sustainable funding arrangement that reflects the value of the work they do in their communities.

There are, of course, different models of decriminalisation across approximately 30 jurisdictions worldwide, and while the citizens' assembly report calls for decriminalisation, it is not prescriptive in this regard. Instead, the report asks several key questions, including whether sanctions for possession should be removed entirely from existing legislation. Ultimately, there are a number of different approaches to decriminalisation but it is highly likely that some changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act will be required. The Oireachtas must answer these questions and that is why a special Oireachtas committee is needed. The Bill before us could also be considered in that context. The committee must be established without delay. Otherwise, lives will continue to be ruined and lost under a system that criminalises what we know to be a health issue. Given the history of the State, we should know better than to allow moral judgment to be the basis for social policy.

Deputy Matt Shanahan

My apologies, I have just come from a committee so I am not going to take eight minutes but I will lay out some points. First, I pay tribute to Deputy Kenny. He has been the foremost voice in the Chamber since his arrival here in looking for a revised drug strategy from the Government. I would not question in anyway his bona fides, which stand large and tall, regarding his concern for those who have fallen into addiction and the need for them to receive rehabilitation and access to State support services to try to get them back playing a great role in society but also to stand them up and restore some dignity to their lives.

Drug addiction is a scourge and we have to be careful in terms of legislation that we are proposing as to whether or not we are potentially opening up avenues that might increase that vista rather than reduce it. Regarding the Bill, we have to listen to the members of the citizens' assembly who have looked at this. We want to decriminalise the possession particularly of class A drugs. I made the point to someone recently regarding the son of a family I know who was found in possession of a small amount of a drug at 18 years of age. I do not know why he ended up getting a conviction but he did and the problem after that was that he was quite good at sport and could not travel to the US because he was barred from getting a visa due to that conviction. Criminalising people for this is not the way forward and Government has probably made mention of that in recent days.

One of the big deficits we have in the country at present is how we deal with the social problems people are facing. We try to throw money at problems not really understanding how they come about. I am close to Aiséirí in Waterford and I commend the work that is done by that organisation. It sees many people who have, I would say, family trauma which is a road without a doubt into drug addiction. It is a societal problem which is very hard to get to the nub of. There are so many reasons for it but certainly impoverishment is one of the main ones as are a lack of access to education, mentoring and role models and that is why community groups and sports clubs are so important and why young people need to have something for which to aim. They need to have people in their lives who can give them direction and a sense of well-being, confidence and self-esteem to participate in life even if they have started from a very low base; I think we would all aspire to that.

Regarding where this legislation might go, there is a lot of medical evidence to suggest that cannabis and cannabis resin is not the drug it was 20 or 30 years ago. In my younger days, I lived in America for a while. I had two acquaintances there who started on cannabis in their late teens and one of those sadly died for heavy heroin addiction and the other has been battling a cocaine addiction for a number of years. Therefore, it can be a gateway drug but more importantly, the potency of cannabis has been highlighted by many members of the medical profession and we are seeing many more children in the psychiatric services who have psychosis and psychotic episodes as a result of using cannabis. It is not a benign drug by any means and neither, by the way, are prescription drugs which are abused and that is also a problem.

In the round, I congratulate Deputy Kenny on what he is trying to achieve here. We have to make this a public health issue. As has been said, this is a public health and not a criminal problem. We have a problem with drugs in that we have a lot of people who are making a lot of money out of the drug industry in this country and we have a lot of social deprivation because of drug addiction. I support anything that can be done to remediate this and to try to offer greater supports, particularly to those who are challenged in our community, either to keep them away from drugs, or where they happen to fall into that position, to try to get them off particularly hard drugs. We do not want to create addiction. Addiction is the greatest and cheapest marketing plan that any company anywhere could introduce and we need to make people aware of the dangers of it. I understand there are some people who want to and perhaps it is their right, certainly it is in other European countries, to dabble in class A drugs. It is not something I would chose to do but then I drink alcohol so who am I to talk? Therefore, I support Deputy Kenny and the work he is trying to do.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Michael Ring)

We move on now to the Rural Independent Group and the first speaker is Deputy Michael Collins.

Deputy Michael Collins

The proposed Bill seeks to modify the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, allowing adults legally to possess a specified amount of cannabis or cannabis resin for personal use. This initiative to amend the law commenced over a year ago and there are no legal obstacles to the amendment. In Ireland, drug use has been on the rise since data collection began nearly two decades ago. Cannabis use contributes to a variety of health issues, including drug-related health problems. The social problems arising from the operation of the illicit drug market have also been recognised in Ireland since the 1990s. The proposed Bill, while aiming to reduce criminal charges and potentially bring economic benefits, could inadvertently contribute to these ongoing issues. It should worry us all, for instance, that cocaine use in Ireland has been on the rise, with the country having the highest usage of cocaine in the European Union in 2022. There was a 4.8% prevalence of cocaine use in Ireland in people aged 15 to 34. The Health Research Board study found that cocaine use among males has risen to nearly one in ten in the 25 to 35 year old age group.

There is an area about which we should be talking and that is the medicinal use of drugs where they can benefit people. We have seen that over the past few years. We had the medicinal cannabis campaign, in the name of Vera Twomey who soldiered and fought a huge battle to get medicinal cannabis for her daughter Ava, a beautiful child who has since passed away, may God rest her soul. That woman's astounding battle opened up the mindsets of many people in this country, including myself, to the benefits of a medicinal use drug; nothing else. If all the people like Vera Twomey can continue this fight, I certainly think we can open many eyes going forward.

Deputy Carol Nolan

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue and I acknowledge the work of Deputy Kenny in bringing it forward. While I certainly accept that Deputy Kenny is motivated by what he believes is the best approach to this issue, I cannot support the aim of this Bill which is to make it legally permissible for a person to possess up to a stated amount of cannabis resin for adult personal use. I accept that we should have a lenient approach to persons in the throes of addiction but effectively removing all legal sanction for possession of what remains a very dangerous drug is something I cannot support. As a study carried out by researchers from the Department of Psychiatry, RCSI and Beaumont Hospital found, cannabis use during youth is of great concern as the developing brain may be particularly susceptible to harm during this period.

We also know from research that when 1,600 Australian children aged 14 and 15 years were studied for seven years, those who used cannabis every day were five times more likely to become depressed and anxious by the end of the study. What I want to see is more emphasis on drug use prevention and avoidance.

My counties of Offaly and Laois are profoundly under-resourced when it comes to tackling illegal drugs. As I understand it, there is just one Garda member assigned to the Laois-Offaly divisional drug unit. My constituency's local drugs unit had fewer gardaí assigned to it than any other unit in the country. That is unacceptable and needs to change.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I am glad to get the opportunity to say a few words on this legislation. I welcome the debate but, sadly, I cannot support the Bill. I worry so much about the evidence regarding drugs and what they are doing to youngsters, lovely young boys and girls, and how families are broken up and people finish up in bad health. We can see that cannabis use has been on the rise for nearly two decades. While some of the people in favour of the Bill will say that it is not a serious or bad drug in itself, it is the gateway and stepping stone to harder drugs.

I have heard the medical profession say that there are more people adversely affected by cannabis than any other drug because there is more of it being used. The with me in Kerry, the Acting Chairman knows that in Mayo and everywhere else it is on the rise in every little town, hamlet and parish. We see the devastation it is creating. I cannot support this Bill because I see what is involved. I know what it is to bring up children and I see my children bringing up their children. I know what is invested in children's lives in trying to get them going. This is not right, and I cannot support this Bill. It would damage people's health or lead them to harder drugs.

I ask that more education about the ill effects of drugs be made available, especially in secondary schools. Like Deputy Michael Collins, I support the use of medicinal cannabis for that purpose, where it is regulated.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

I acknowledge what Deputy Gino Kenny is doing here. While I agree with parts of it, I cannot support the Bill as it stands. Medicinal cannabis can be used in certain circumstances. I would like to see it made available to people who are suffering from chronic pain and to provide relief for those receiving cancer treatments. I would like this to be done through doctors prescribing it to people, including the terminally ill, to give them a quality of life. I would like to see it coming through the medical profession where at least there would be a control mechanism in place. I am 100% in favour of the law allowing for it but it should be provided by a doctor or consultant or other medical professional to improve the quality of life of people experiencing chronic pain and suffering.

I am not in favour of making it legal for anyone to walk around with this drug. I am a father. If one of my children, including as an adult, needed cannabis to address an issue, even if it was a terminal illness, I would ask a medical professional to prescribe something to help my child. Medicinal cannabis has worked for Crohn's disease and different things. Let it be licensed through the medical profession. At least then we would have some control over it, the people who need it would get it and people would be helped. That is where I stand on this.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

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 Times recently 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.

Deputy Joan Collins

I thank Deputy Gino Kenny and People Before Profit for introducing the Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022. I welcome this Bill and I will be supporting it. I also welcome the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use report released last week. The citizens' assembly report has given the Government a mandate to move this country's national drug policy away from a focus on punishment and criminalisation and into line with international best practice, a health and community-led approach and decriminalisation.

What is clear from the 36 recommendations the citizens' assembly has made is that there is an acceptance that the current approach is not working. It does not work for reducing drug use or for the communities affected by drug use. The policies of prohibition and punishment compound the effects that addiction and drug misuse have on individuals and communities.

The report accepts that drug misuse is not a single issue or a justice issue.

It is a complex issue that works in conjunction with other health and socioeconomic issues. I welcome the recommendations in the report that reflect this and call for a wider socioeconomic approach. Drugs misuse and addiction treatment must be approached in a way that reflects this complexity and intervenes in all aspects, including health, social, economic and community factors.

This is a simple Bill. It does not call for the legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis. It simply removes the onus to prosecute someone for holding a small amount of cannabis for personal use. There is no need to criminalise someone for having 7 g of cannabis. There is no need for a prison sentence or for someone's current or future employment or housing situation to be put at risk. The Bill provides for exactly what the citizens' assembly has called for, which is to move away from harsh treatment for minor drug possession and target the real problems that underline drugs misuse. We do not need the Government's amendment that proposes to kick the can down the road for nine months. Anyone who has read the citizens' assembly report can see this Bill clearly follows its recommendations. Prosecuting someone for holding up to 7 g of cannabis does not target the gangs importing and selling drugs. It does not end the poverty and deprivation that underline much drug misuse. It does nothing for mental health supports, it does not help communities and it does not help families dealing with drugs misuse. It does not even stop drugs misuse.

I welcome the indication by the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, that there will be increased funding for drug treatment. That is great but if she has any interest in ending drugs misuse, we need to target the reasons people end up misusing drugs and with addiction problems. Child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, are falling apart, there is no real adult mental health system to talk of and our housing system is causing mass immiseration. In 2022, we had a poverty rate of 13.1%, which equates to more than 650,000 people. These are the issues we need to tackle. The Government is failing to uphold basic living standards in this county, from housing to wages to health and mental health. These are the issues that underline huge amounts of drugs misuse and addiction. That is what the citizens' assembly report means when it talks about a wider socioeconomic strategy. We need to see real improvements in people's lives and the supports they need to access.

The Bill should be the first step in moving to the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use, just as the assembly has called for. That approach needs to be accompanied by a health- and community-led national drug policy. We need a committee headed by the Taoiseach to oversee this move. Will the Government support that recommendation by the citizens' assembly?

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I commend the Bill brought forward by Deputy Gino Kenny. It is extremely timely considering the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use launched its report and recommendations last week. It was a positive step that the Government established the assembly. I welcome that an Oireachtas select committee will be set up to look at its recommendations. I have expressed my interest in sitting on the committee. I look forward to its work commencing and, I hope, being completed before the Dáil term comes to an end. That must be the objective.

I support the Bill and am happy the Government is not opposing it outright, albeit it is being given a pregnancy stay. Criminalising the drug user has not worked. I have said that many times and I say it again. It is an approach that is not grounded in evidence or in any respect for human dignity. It results in an overreliance on punitive measures, which is something for which we do not have capacity. For example, there are 4,768 people in custody today, with 101 of them sleeping on mattresses on the floor. That is shocking. We are draining the resources that could and should be invested in evidence-based services. Let us just absorb that fact. We continue to incarcerate people for simple possession. When I met the then governor of Mountjoy Prison, he told me that the reality, unfortunately, is that those who are incarcerated end up in a school of criminality. Does that make any sense at all?

It is a fact that current policy does not deter drug use effectively. What has been done and what is still being done is not working. As policymakers, we ultimately want people who are dug users to seek help. Criminalisation only adds to the stigma around drug users and should no longer be an option. Decriminalisation would encourage service development and uptake and go a long way to changing societal attitudes towards people with addictions. That is the space into which we need to move. We need recognition from the Government that communities that are marginalised and stuck in deprivation have had inequitable enforcement of drug laws and concentrated use of police powers. Decriminalising can present an opportunity to address the mistrust between those communities and An Garda Síochána.

I do not have time to discuss the review of the recently completed medical cannabis access programme, MCAP. It is hugely disappointing that we have such restricted access to medicinal cannabis considering that the provision has been in place since 2019. Progress has been far too slow. That leaves vulnerable people open to criminalisation and a life of stigma and intimidation from drug gangs. It leaves them isolated, with the feeling there is no help and no hope. I absolutely support the Bill.

Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Deputy Niall Collins)

I thank Members for their contributions to this discussion on drugs policy and acknowledge their interest in and commitment to this issue. The Government is fully committed to a health-led approach to drug use. We believe people with problematic drug and alcohol use should be treated with compassion and care.

The citizens' assembly made 36 recommendations, which will next be considered by the Oireachtas. Recommendation No. 17 calls on the State to introduce a comprehensive health-led response to the possession of drugs for personal use. This recommendation assumes that possession of controlled drugs will remain illegal, while those found in possession of drugs for personal use can be afforded extensive opportunities to engage with health-led services. Depending on how the legislation is designed, this approach would minimise or potentially completely remove the possibility of criminal conviction and prison sentences for simple possession.

The report advises that there are several open questions about how Ireland might best legislate for a health-led model, combining diversion, decriminalisation and dissuasion. Given the important legal and constitutional issues to be considered, it is the responsibility of the Oireachtas, informed by legal advice and detailed pre-legislative scrutiny, to determine the most appropriate legal mechanisms to achieve this goal. To this end, as previously outlined, it is anticipated that a special Oireachtas committee will be established to consider in detail this and other recommendations and agree on the most appropriate next steps.

In the interim, the Government will continue to progress the health diversion programme for people found in possession of drugs for personal use. The programme will divert people found to be in possession of drugs for personal use to health services rather than towards the criminal justice system. An implementation group has progressed plans for the commencement of the health diversion programme, including the operational aspects of the programme. A proposal to allow An Garda Síochána to refer people found in possession of drugs for personal use to the programme on an administrative basis has been developed. Legal advice is pending to determine how it can be put in place.

We cannot be complacent about the impact of drug use on individuals, families and communities. The citizens' assembly has documented the harmful impact of drugs on Irish society, from drug-related violence and intimidation to the multiple health and social effects on people experiencing addiction and the upheaval and distress caused to family members. That is why the assembly was asked to carefully consider the legislative, policy and operational changes the State can make to significantly reduce the harmful impact of drugs. Discussing this Bill without detailed consideration of the views of the assembly would be disrespectful to its 100 citizen members and could undermine the deliberations of the Oireachtas committee. I therefore support the proposal that the Bill be deemed to be read a Second Time in nine months.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I thank colleagues for their contributions. This discussion has been a little more progressive than the debate in the House 11 years ago on a similar proposal. I completely disagree with some of the views expressed. An argument that has always really annoyed me is that cannabis is a gateway to harder drugs. That is absolute rubbish. When people talk about harder drugs, they are referring to heroin. The gateway to heroin is not cannabis; it is poverty, alienation and serious trauma. We should remember that alcohol has a lot to answer for in this country. It is a legal drug. I can walk out the doors of this Chamber and straight through the doors of two bars that will serve me as much alcohol as I want.

Alcohol kills four people a day in this country, which is 5% of all deaths. If we go down the road of making alcohol illegal, if we think the drug wars were bad wait until the alcohol wars come in. Wait and see, it will put the drug wars into the ha'penny place. I find it incredible that Deputy Healy Rae says that cannabis is a gateway drug. He owns a pub. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance. Most people drink in this country, but most people do not have problematic use but there are people who have problematic use with alcohol and they die. There is a terrible issue around that.

I note some of the terminology the Minister of State has used about undermining the citizens' assembly and it being premature and deeming it to be disrespectful. I do not know who writes this stuff but we have been waiting for six decades for this debate. Things have moved on but I am not sure if the Government has moved on. I think that public opinion has become much more progressive regarding this issue. People are not hung up on the old tropes of stigmatisation and the rhetoric that can be used against people who use drugs. Most people who use drugs do not have problematic use. We acknowledge, however, that some people do. These people should get treatment as soon as possible. There is a huge shortage of treatment beds in this country, and when people get treatment, the outcomes are very good.

Regarding the proliferation of drugs, since the 1970s, the availability of all sorts of drugs has increased. We cannot police ourselves out of a situation of the proliferation of drugs. It is just not possible. Other jurisdictions across the world have said that this is absolutely impossible. The amount of resources that goes into trying to stop drugs is largely a waste. Other jurisdictions, particularly in South America, have now said that all the resources that go into preventing drugs - not only what happens in their countries, but into Europe and the United States - simply do not work. They are looking at different models of decriminalisation and regulation. That is very important.

Regarding the medical cannabis access programme, in 2019 the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 was amended in relation to those who can get access to medical cannabis. Fewer than 100 people have got access, some via licence and some via the medical cannabis access programme. The irony at the end of it in this particular issue is that some people who have got a licence for medical cannabis can have more than 7g on their person. In some cases it can be multiples of that if they are on licence for medical cannabis. They are lawfully allowed to possess cannabis if they have a prescription. However, if a person does not have prescription he or she can be prosecuted. There are huge discrepancies regarding that and the legislation we are talking about.

In my life experience growing up in Clondalkin I saw the terrible dark side of addiction. I saw what happens to individuals, communities and society as a whole. There is a dark side to drugs, which we all acknowledge. However, my life experience tells me that continually criminalising people, putting people in prison and wasting vast resources in containment, jailing people and bringing people through the criminal justice system does not work. We have to look at different models as to how we can go about changing course.

One of the models is decriminalisation. To be clear, I am talking about decriminalising the person rather than the drugs. That is a good model but to me it does not go far enough. There are shortcomings regarding decriminalisation even in Portugal. It is not a perfect panacea by any means; nothing is a perfect panacea, but something is better than letting people die. That is what is happening with drug-related deaths. We have to change course and to do so we need to change our mindset and we need to change our laws. If we do not change the laws, it is lip service. I have no doubt that there are elements of this Government who are happy enough with the status quo. In fact, they probably want to go more medieval than they have done before. I do not know where the members of the Green Party are today. The Green Party has quite a progressive policy on cannabis and drugs in general, but they will be voting against this Bill. They have completely sold their soul for the last four years. There are some very good people in the Green Party on a lot of issues that we have discussed in the lifetime of this Government.

It is disappointing, considering the citizens' assembly recommendations. The citizens' assembly Chair has been unequivocal when he stated that there is no time to waste. We need to change course and change how people are dealt with in relation to drug use in Ireland. That means legislative change. If we do not change legislation we will be in the same room in ten years time, probably talking about the same issues and the same problems. Something has to change. Where there is a will there is a way. That is the most important thing. Many people listening to and viewing this debate might have had different opinions on this issue a number of years ago. They may have changed and some people may have changed to the opposite side and become more in favour of locking people up. However, I am of the firm view that the majority of people in this country have moved on. They want to see things change in this country with legislative change and harm reduction. In that sense, as a public representative for the last eight and a half years, I think it is disappointing to hear the same rhetoric and the same lip service being paid to this issue. I think the Government is on the wrong side of history on this issue. The Government has a chance with the special Oireachtas committee to make the changes, but the jury is out in relation to that.

Amendment put.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Michael Ring)

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time later today.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 11.48 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12 meán lae.

Sitting suspended at 11.48 a.m. and resumed at 12 noon.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 31 Jan 2024

Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 31 Jan 2024