Ana Liffey Drug Project
ALDP
The Ana Liffey Drug Project is a national addiction service in Ireland operating from a low threshold, harm reduction ethos.
ID: 589112524925-24
Lobbying Activity
Response to Alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug using offenders
20 Sept 2022
DIVERSION:
The Criminal Justice system is not appropriate for dealing with possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. In this regard we draw the Commission's attention to an excerpt from the report, ‘NOT CRIMINALS - Underpinning a health-led approach to drug use’:
“Criminal law, which carries with it the state’s authority to deprive people of their liberty and punish them in other ways, is meant to be reserved for society’s more serious offenses. In general, criminal sanctions are meant to serve a number of objectives, including the:
• deterrence of future criminal conduct;
• incapacitation of criminals and criminal activities through incarceration;
• rehabilitation of the offender; and
• retribution for wrong-doing (punishment for the sake of punishment).
Insofar as achieving these objectives is concerned, there is little evidence that criminalisation of minor drug possession is a deterrent to future drug use or possession in any sustainable way, something that has been recognised for some years by policy makers and legal and criminal justice scholars.
Ana Liffey is supportive of the implementation of Ireland's health led approach to the possession of drugs for personal use as outlined in the National Drug Strategy. In August 2019 the Irish government launched its policy on Ireland’s approach to the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. Announcing the adoption of a staged approach to dealing with possession i.e. the first time a person is caught, they will be diverted for a (mandatory) health assessment with HSE; the second time, the Gardaí will have the option to apply an adult caution under the adult cautioning scheme; and the third time, the person will have used all their chances and will face criminal prosecution. This policy is yet to be implemented; and we hope that upon further reflection the State will provide people every opportunity to benefit from an appropriate health intervention outside of the criminal justice system i.e. divert people, found in the possession of drugs for personal use, away from the Criminal Justice system as the default response every time.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM:
The current system, which can result in a criminal record, is counter-productive in terms of dissuading people from drug use and encouraging engagement in rehabilitative programmes. Through our research we “have found that, relatively few criminal justice systems have been able to demonstrate that they offer lasting rehabilitation of people in prison or otherwise detained based on sanctions imposed for drug possession”.
ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTION
A type of administrative sanction would be more appropriate to a criminal sanction. In this regard, we agree with the findings of Ireland's ‘Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality’ a cross-party parliamentary committee in 2015:
“The Committee strongly recommends the introduction of a harm reducing and rehabilitative approach, whereby the possession of a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use, could be dealt with by way of a civil/administrative response and rather than via the criminal justice route.”
COST-EFFECTIVENESS:
An administrative sanction would be more cost-effective to the Exchequer rather than a criminal sanction. However, there are few resources which are specifically on point in relation to Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and decriminalisation. One study conducted by Zábranský in the Czech Republic concluded:
"...the implementation of penalization of possession of illegal drugs for personal use was economically disadvantageous and incurred redundant costs..."
FINALLY
We take this final opportunity to draw the Commissions attention to the following important value, which we believe is essential for the successful implementation of a health led response to people found in the possession of drugs for personal use – drug use is not just a health issue the first or second time, it is a health issue every time.
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