People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny has unveiled a general election manifesto which aims to decriminalise drugs and legalise the use of cannabis. Kenny also highlighted the need for a harm reduction approach to the consumption of drugs, promoting education rather than criminalisation and stigmatisation.

“Drugs have ravaged some of Ireland’s poorest communities,” TD Gino Kenny said in a statement. “Any effective drugs policy needs to tackle the material causes of these forms of drug taking instead of targeting vulnerable drug users with criminalisation.

“Our policy would involve careful regulation, banning promotion of drug use by commercial bodies and ensuring good quality information is available for users and good quality health services are available for those who have health problems related to drug use, including prescription drugs.”

Kenny demonstrated that despite the Citizens’ Assembly voting to decriminalise drug use for personal possession, forwarding a health a health led approach, “Fine Gael TDs have been pursuing their fake war with Fianna Fáil by expressing outrage about their apparent support for decriminalising drugs.”

The TD called out Fine Gael as “grossly hypocritical” as they had TDs on the Special Dail Committee on Drug Use: “Not one of those TDs voted against the recommendation of the joint committee which proposed to decriminalise the personal use of drugs,” he stated further.

In early 2023, the Oireachtas agreed to set up a Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, and asked it to consider the legislative, policy and operational changes Ireland could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider Irish society.

The assembly made 36 recommendations aimed at reducing the harm caused by illicit drug use. The report stated that possession of controlled drugs would remain illegal, but that “people found in possession of illicit drugs for personal use would be afforded, first and foremost, extensive opportunities to engage voluntarily with health-led services.”

In today’s statement, Kenny further cited the inefficiency of the 47-year-long policy of criminalisation concerning drug use.

At present, the use of Class A drugs has seen a significant increase in recent years. A UN report in 2023 noted that Irish people were among the fourth highest consumers of cocaine globally. According to the report, 2.4 percent of Irish people reported using cocaine during the previous year, the same as in the US and Austria.

“We need a different approach - one that leads to a harm reduction strategy when dependency on these drugs becomes a major problem,” TD Gino Kenny asserted. “Decriminalisation allows individuals to come forward to medical authorities to deal with any problems they have. Treating people as criminals has driven drug use underground.”