‘No change proposed’ to drug possession laws

MINISTER for public health Jennifer Murnane O'Connor has said ‘‘no change is proposed’’ to drug possession laws, following the publication of an Oireachtas committee report calling for their repeal.

The committee's report, which contains 161 recommendations, calls for section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 — the provision which criminalises personal possession — to be repealed.

In a statement to The Nationalist, the Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow-Kilkenny rejected that specific recommendation, saying it would “effectively legalise the possession of drugs for personal use.” “This is contrary to the recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use for a comprehensive health-led approach,” minister Murnane O’Connor said.

The joint Oireachtas committee was formed following the 2024 Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use.

The Citizens’ Assembly had recommended decriminalising possession of any substance for personal use and, ahead of the general election in 2024, Fianna Fáil committed to changing the law around possession of drugs in their manifesto, but later clarified that this would only apply to certain drugs, such as cannabis.

Minister Murnane O’Connor said she “welcomed” yesterday’s report and agreed with many of its recommendations, particularly the “strong focus on a health-led approach to drug use in society.” She said the government is committed to this health-led approach and is currently developing a “successor National Drugs Strategy,” which the Oireachtas committee’s recommendations will help to inform.

“In line with the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations, the government has agreed to divert those found in possession of drugs for personal use to the health services,” the minister said.

The minister confirmed that this diversion scheme will commence on an administrative basis and will be implemented by gardaí. However, she said no change is proposed to the Misuse of Drugs Act and that there are no plans to apply different rules to different controlled drugs.

Among the committee's other 160 recommendations are the restoration and strengthening of community drug groups and local drug and alcohol task forces and greater investment in support for families of people with addiction who have experienced violence or intimidation arising from drug debt.

The report noted that while the majority of the evidence suggests decriminalisation of drugs does not lead to an increase in consumption, some jurisdictions have reported an increase in drug consumption in public places.

This issue could be addressed by local authorities, who, the report says, could discourage and reduce consumption in public areas by using bylaws already in place to manage public drinking.