Throwing people in prison does not solve their addiction issues – and often leads to further offending.

On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, listeners debated Ireland's drug laws, with most agreeing that it is time for change.

It comes after Drugs Minister Hildegarde Naughton said people caught with small amounts of drugs should not be brought before the criminal justice system.

In an interview with the Irish Independent, Minister Naughton called for a health-led approach in a bid to break the ‘vicious cycle’ of addiction in Ireland.

The Citizens Assembly on Drugs last year recommended decriminalisation of drugs for personal use – and a dedicated Oireachtas Committee is now due to be set up to explore the idea.

On Lunchtime Live, caller Rob said he absolutely agreed with the proposal.

“I don't think it serves society very well to throw people who have got a medical issue into prison,” he said.

“When you’re talking about the cost, judges aren't free and I'll tell you, prisons definitely aren't free. I used to work in the UK prison system and it's very expensive to put someone in prison.

“For the most part, whilst the Irish system is a little bit better than it is over in England, you're not solving people's addiction issues when you put them into prison, you're putting them next to other criminals.

“Sadly, the truth is that people often re-offend after they've been in prison.

“So, you're not making society any better by putting people into prison. You're not making it better for the individual and you're not saving us any money by putting them into prison. You're costing us money.

“Whereas if we instead treated a medical issue as exactly that, the medical issue that it is, we can save the country money and we can make sure that we save the lives of people who otherwise are going to end up in a very bad way.”

Decriminalisation

Asked if he supported the decriminalisation of all drugs, Rob said the laws should support people to break free from addiction.

“Opioids, I guess, are the most amusing example when it comes to this,” he said. “They're already legal.

“We know that many countries - and I don't think Ireland entirely escaped this - have suffered from an opioid crisis and opioid addiction because of medical use of opioids,” he said.

“But then we say, ‘well this opioid provided by this person is good, but it can lead you down a path of addiction.

“Meanwhile, this opioid provided by this other person is bad, and you're going to jail.’

“That to me doesn't make any sense. I look at all opioid addiction and say, it is a clear medical issue, please let's treat these people as they need to be treated. They need to be helped.”

War on drugs

He said the war on drugs has “absolutely failed” adding that controlled drugs should be treated in the same way as those behind the counter.

Separately former Drug Squad member Christy said there is no point decriminalising anything without the proper educational and medical supports in place.

“If you don't have the supports in place for people who have addictions, then there's little or no point in saying, ‘Look, we'll adopt this approach, caution, caution, caution,’” he said.

“I have always believed that the structures need to be in place, both educational and medical, before you start going down that road because I see it as an easy opt-out for the Government and for the minister.

“It's a way of reducing the timescale for front-line officers when they're dealing with people in possession of drugs so they're not taking up time in court and it's less of a cost to the State, but there is the other side of that cost, the other cost is the medical cost where people have addictions and there's not enough invested in that to help people away from addiction.”

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