Oireachtas Justice Committee considering possibility of Portuguese-style changes.
Buying drugs in parts of Ireland can be easier than ordering pizza,” said campaigner Fr Peter McVerry, who believes the “war on drugs has long been lost”.
His views are among at least 50 submissions to the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which is considering the feasibility of introducing Portuguese-style decriminalisation in Ireland. In Portugal, drug addiction is treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one.
Many submissions focus on the perceived failures or shortcomings of the criminal justice system in dealing with addiction and recreational drug use.
“The current approach is simply not working,” wrote Fr McVerry, who has worked with homeless people for 35 years. “In some areas . . . you can have your drug of choice delivered to you quicker than pizza.”
He dismissed the idea that criminal sanctions are an effective deterrent, saying that in 2014 alone 10,842 people appeared before the district courts. “Yet more and more drugs are now available in every town and even village in Ireland,” he said. “If criminal justice policies were 100 per cent effective (meaning every crime was detected and every perpetrator convicted) then one person out of every four in Ireland would now be a convicted criminal.”
Source: Mark Hilliard, The Irish Times, 10/08/15
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
