Decriminalise personal-use drug possession, cttee says

An Oireachtas committee has recommended the decriminalisation of possession of all drugs for personal use.

TDs and Senators on the Joint Committee on Drugs Use believe Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 should be repealed, noting how the vast body of evidence suggests decriminalisation is unlikely to lead to an increase in consumption.

However, the committee notes that the small sample of jurisdictions where decriminalisation has already been implemented, have reported an increase in drug consumption in public areas.

As such, committee members believe local authorities should be required to discourage and reduce consumption in public areas, including through the use of local authority bye laws like those governing alcohol consumption.

They also believe there should be wider use of supervised injecting facilities, including mobile sites.

TDs and Senators believe the Government should ensure that decriminalisation applies to all substances rather than limiting reform to cannabis or selected drugs.

The committee was established to respond to 36 recommendations made by the Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use in 2024, including calls on the Government to provide leadership and accountability at the highest political level to address the use of drugs in Ireland.

The report includes 161 recommendations across family and community supports, kinship care, intergenerational trauma, nitrous oxide and other inhalants, drug use and addiction and the National Drugs Strategy.

"The committee has concluded that the personal possession of drugs for one's own use should cease to be treated as a criminal matter and should instead be met with a health-led approach.

"This is not a marginal adjustment. It is a recognition that criminalising people for their own drug use has not reduced harm, and that a different approach is both possible and overdue," said committee chair Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats.

"Ireland must move to a health-led approach. The evidence shows that a largely criminal justice-focused approach has not worked well enough", added committee vice chair Mary Fitzpatrick of Fianna Fáil.

Read the committee's final report here

Should decriminalisation go ahead, committee members believe the Government should clarify, in legislation if needed, that it would not undermine garda powers relating to sale or supply offences, search powers, or organised crime investigations.

The report recommends the introduction of mandatory, standardised and highly visible health warnings on aerosol deodorants and other inhalant products, including warnings that solvent abuse can cause instant death.

TDs and Senators also believe the Government should examine the introduction of age restrictions on the sale of aerosol products and other inhalants.

There are several recommendations around nitrous oxide, including the introduction of a licensing or invoice-only purchasing system for nitrous oxide products intended for legitimate catering and industrial use.

The committee also wants a prohibition on the sale of large-volume nitrous oxide canisters intended for recreational use and a social media advertisement ban on such products.

The report stated that naloxone - which can temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses - should be rescheduled under legislation to allow it to be made available over the counter, rather than prescription only.

The committee also called for the ending of short prison sentences for non-violent and drug-related offences that break up families, replacing them instead with community sanctions and/or restorative justice-based sentencing measures, where appropriate.

It also recommended for greater investment in both refuge and residential addiction services to shorten the wait times for those in need, including mother-and-child places.

It said there should be a permanent Joint Oireachtas Committee on drug use and related issues.

A number of groups working with people affected by addictions will also give their reaction to the report when it is published later today.