What Would You Do
If you found drugs in your child’s pocket, or if a loved one came to you and said they were experiencing an issue with drug use, would it prompt you to call the Gardaí?
I have never looked at someone who uses drugs and considered them to be a criminal who should be locked up. I first used drugs before I was a teenager, and unlike many people I care about, I am still here to talk about it. Each time I lost a friend, my determination to end the vilification and lack of care for people who use drugs grew stronger. I promised everyone of those still with us, those still struggling, and those I have said goodbye to that I would keep fighting for us every day.
When I gave my first speech as an elected representative in 2016, which was about drug policy, I felt politically alone in the halls of Leinster House. That has changed, and now, for the third time since my election, a cross-party Joint Oireachtas Committee report is guiding us forward, informed by engagement with the people who have kept the drugs issue on the agenda for decades. Will the state follow the path we are setting?
Since 2016, I have asked many politicians, decision-makers, and concerned individuals who wanted to keep Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act a question: If you found drugs in your child’s pocket, or if a loved one came to you and said they were experiencing an issue with drug use, would it prompt you to call the Gardaí?
The answer has always been the same: a clear and definite “No”.
So why do we still rely on a punitive, justice-led approach to drug use in Ireland? Even people who worry about mental health and addiction together know that a police station or prison cell will not help.
For too long, Ireland has handled drug problems predominantly through the criminal justice system. Section 3 possession offences have criminalised tens of thousands of people when what they really needed was healthcare, housing, treatment, support, stability, or, sometimes, just to be left alone. No society in the world is free from substance use, whether used for pleasure or as a response to pain. Criminal records have not changed these circumstances. They have not prevented overdose deaths or reduced poverty, and Ireland now has the highest overdose rates in Europe.
Much of the debate about drug policy in Ireland focuses on one question: should having drugs for personal use still be a crime?
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Drugs Use, building on the Citizens’ Assembly’s work, considered this question and has recommended a health-led response and the repeal of Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act as it relates to possession for personal use. It also recommends that decriminalisation should apply equally to all drugs and that no one should be criminalised for refusing an intervention. Support should always be available, no matter how many times someone needs it, but it should never be mandated
People often focus on the type of drug, but the committee encourages us to see the person, not the substance. Under a comprehensive health-led model, as envisaged by the Citizens’ Assembly and the Joint Committee on Drug Use, it is the person who will not be criminalised for personal use. The real impact of this policy position is on people, their families, and their communities. All other parts of the Misuse of Drugs Act would stay in place, so An Garda Siochana would retain stop-and-search powers for sale, supply, cultivation, and related offences.
These recommendations are significant but reasonable. They would represent one of the biggest changes in Irish drug policy in decades. The Justice Committee, the Citizens’ Assembly, and both the interim and final reports of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Drug Use have all called for this after consulting evidence from Ireland and around the world. Once people listen and have access to the evidence, the result is always the same: we need to move away from drug policies that we know cause and entrench harm towards a more compassionate, humane and understanding system that sees more than a person’s drug use or addiction.
One of the clearest points from the Committee’s hearings was that many harms linked to drug use are made worse by criminalisation. Most civil society groups, academics, legal experts, and international witnesses agreed that criminalisation leads to stigma, exclusion, and worse health outcomes. They were clear that a truly health-led approach requires decriminalisation. The role of decriminalisation is to prevent the compounding of harm. It is about the person.
Throughout the hearings, witnesses stressed that recovery is different for everyone. As laid out in the report, the committee recognises that recovery looks different for each person and that the state is not in a position to dictate the definition of recovery for any individual. Recovery and rehabilitation exist on a spectrum, ranging from harm reduction to sobriety, with quality of life being a key metric that individuals can define for themselves. Recovery is also shaped by contexts such as housing, poverty, employment, stigma, and social exclusion, just as much as by treatment. Addiction was described not only as a health issue but also as a social issue linked to broader conditions. Communities need and deserve both legal changes and investment in treatment, housing, and family supports after years of neglect and harmful policies.
The committee’s report doesn’t focus solely on decriminalisation; it sets out a broader vision for a drug policy that prioritises health over punishment, prevention over crisis, and community empowerment over central control.
That means changing how we respond through the criminal justice system. The Committee’s recommendations for prisons call for more addiction treatment services, better continuity of care, greater access to recovery supports, and a deeper understanding of how trauma, poverty, neurodivergence, and addiction are connected in the criminal justice system. It also challenges the ongoing use of short prison sentences for non-violent and drug-related offences. These sentences break up families and do little to address the real causes of harm, especially since approximately 70% of people in prison have issues with substance use. Instead, the committee recommends more community-based and restorative approaches, moving resources from incarceration to holistic, trauma-informed rehabilitation and support services.
It also means keeping people alive and connected to care. One of the clearest examples of how we can do this from the report is the use of naloxone. Making naloxone available over the counter and also to people who are incarcerated would be a simple, practical step that can save lives, reduce harm and foster hope for a safer Ireland.
Public discussion often highlights street drug use as a serious concern, which is understandable. We heard from experts who have worked on decriminalisation in places like Canada and Oregon. Both areas, including police in Canada, wanted to keep the reforms and support decriminalisation, but not dealing with street use put their efforts at risk. The Committee recognised that many people who use drugs do not have a private, safe, or stable place to do so. Street use often happens because of homelessness, poverty, deprivation and exclusion. To address this, the Committee recommends changing the law to allow for more supervised consumption facilities, including both fixed and mobile sites.
Safe use spaces do not encourage drug use. They recognise reality. They lower the risk of overdose, help people access healthcare, reduce drug use in public, and provide pathways to treatment and recovery for those who want it.
If we are serious about reducing visible drug use in our communities, we need to understand why people use drugs in public. The committee further recommends looking at the bylaws we use for alcohol in public spaces while making sure vulnerable people who use drugs get extra protection. I believe that with the right people involved, we can find the answers.
We need to be just as willing to follow the evidence for other interventions. International experts told the committee that many harms linked to drugs are actually caused by prohibition and criminalisation, not drug use itself. Witnesses highlighted the success of harm reduction measures like overdose prevention centres, naloxone distribution, opioid substitution treatment, and heroin-assisted treatment, which can help people engage with healthcare, reduce harmful drug use, and lower dependence on illegal markets.
A truly evidence-based system should not ignore interventions just because they challenge common beliefs.
Finally, it means investing in families and communities. Families are not just bystanders to addiction. Researchers told the committee that 60% to 80% of people with a ‘substance use disorder’ have experienced trauma. Without proper therapy and mental health support, that harm can be passed down, affecting children, families, and communities across generations.
Recognising these facts, the committee called for the creation of a National Family Support System, providing trauma-informed care for whole families, support throughout treatment and recovery, and an independent advocacy service for people who use drugs and their families.
Prevention works best when it is part of the community, especially in places where harm is greatest. Witnesses said that youth work, family resource centres, community organisations, and trusted local services are among the most effective forms of prevention.
Youth organisations stressed the need for safe and welcoming community spaces, with the NYCI suggesting the development of youth hubs that combine youth work, mental health support, educational guidance, and creative opportunities. The report recommends investing in family resource centres; drug and alcohol task forces (both local and regional); and community development, which are at the heart of any worthwhile national drug strategy.
Communities are often the first to notice new harms and trends, like crack cocaine, synthetic opioids, drug-related intimidation, or changing drug use patterns, and often understand these problems before national systems do. This is why the committee recommends restoring drug and alcohol task forces to their vital role at the heart of governance and decision-making. Good policy cannot emerge only from government offices. It must be shaped and carried out by the people who live with the results every day.
Addiction does not happen in isolation, and while many types of people can experience it, the harms are felt differently and collectively in communities long abandoned by the state and impacted in unimaginable ways by their experiences, which are closely connected to trauma, poverty, class inequality, homelessness, and difficult childhood experiences. But if we listen to the evidence we have heard time and again and implement these recommendations, we can build something truly different.
Now is the time for Ireland to be brave; criminalisation does not work, and we all deserve better.