The Citizens’ Assembly does not want drug legalisation, Chair Paul Reid has said. 

The forum was established to consider how the Government could “significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider Irish society.”

The final report contains 36 recommendations and has been published in full today.

Speaking to The Hard Shoulder, Mr Reid described it as “the most comprehensive deliberation on drugs” in the history of the State.

He also said while the status quo was “overwhelmingly rejected” by Assembly members, the most radical form of change was also voted down.

“We are not recommending legalising drugs,” he said.

“I just want to be very clear on that; we are saying certain levels of possession, for certain use, across all types of illicit drugs would not [be dealt with] by the criminal system.”

A man divides lines of cocaine. Credit: Riccardo Ceccherini / Alamy Stock Photo

Instead, the report urges the Government to stop treating drug use as a problem for the criminal justice system to deal with and instead focus on healthcare solutions.

“We recommend moving from the current model, which in essence means if a person is caught in possession of illicit drugs, they are routed through the criminal justice system and potentially criminally convicted,” he said.

“We are saying it’s a much better opportunity to catch that much earlier through the pipeline and route people much earlier through a health-led system.”

A man prepares to inject heroin. Picture by: Julien Behal/PA Archive/PA Images

Mr Reid said this could put an end to a “vicious cycle” of criminal sanctions for drug users.

“Other countries have a similar problem, the most referenced one is Portugal,” he said.

“But we believe the model that we’ve come down on today across the 36 recommendations is an Irish model, set in an Irish context to deal with our Irish problems.

Any change would require legislation to be passed by the Oireachtas and Ministers would need to agree at what point would a person be eligible for criminal prosecution.

“What would be the quantity of possession that could be the threshold [for criminal prosecution]?” he said.

“How many times if caught in possession is a threshold?

“And then, what if you’re not taking up the best advice? We’ve left those thresholds for further consideration by the Government because they can get the best advice.”

Anyone who thinks they may have a problem with drug or alcohol addiction can contact the HSE’s freephone helpline on 1800 459 459 Monday to Friday between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm.

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Main image: Cannabis.