Citizens Assembly backs 'comprehensive health-led' approach in drug possession cases
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The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs has recommended a "comprehensive health-led" approach — involving some form of decriminalisation — for possession of all drugs for personal use.
The vote was “extremely tight” for cannabis, where the split between a comprehensive health-led approach and outright legalisation, was only split by one vote (39 members to 38 members).
The assembly agreed by some distance that a “hybrid” legal approach to drugs was needed, with different legal options for four different categories of drugs.
The individual legal options were:
- A - status quo;
- B - limited health-led approach (with possession criminalised);
- C - comprehensive health-led approach (with possession either legally decriminalised or effectively decriminalised in practice);
- D - tolerance (decriminalisation with less emphasis on health diversion);
- E - legalisation and regulation.
When those options were applied to the four categories of drugs, the members voted in favour of the following:
- Cannabis: Option C (39);
- Hallucinogenics; Option C (42);
- Cocaine: Option C (56);
- All other drugs: Option C (45).
Before the vote, assembly secretary Cathal O’Regan said that the area was “fraught with all sorts of legal and constitutional complexities” and that if members vote for Option C or D, the decisions on the detail of the changes to the law would be “referred back” to the Oireachtas.
He said it will be for the Oireachtas to work out the balance between “whether or not it is complete depenalisation [where no criminal penalties are imposed for possession] or complete decriminalisation or something less than that”.
He said the assembly doesn’t have the "capacity" to answer these questions and would focus on the strategic direction they want it to go.
“There is ongoing legal uncertainty about the extent to which you can totally remove the criminal responsibility or whether it has to remain, a distinction between de jure or de facto decriminalisation,” he said.
“It isn’t within our grasp as an assembly to figure out the legalities about what’s possible or not.”
He said both options C and D involve decriminalisation — whether it’s legal decriminalisation of de facto decriminalisation — and that the extent of the decriminalisation would be determined by the Oireachtas. Under Option C, drug possession would be decriminalised but would remain illegal, but would not be prosecuted in the criminal courts, but could be subject to non-criminal sanctions (such as health diversion, fine or community service).
Earlier, the assembly voted overwhelmingly (85%) not to retain the current status quo and existing criminal sanctions for personal possession of drugs.
The assembly is currently engaged in discussions on recommendations in relation to drug policies, services, structures, and oversight.