Ireland will move towards legalising supervised heroin use, and possible future decriminalisation of other drugs, according to Aodh谩n 脫 R铆ord谩in, the Irish minister who is redrafting Ireland鈥檚 national drugs strategy.
The minister announced that new laws to legalise injection of heroin under medical supervision could be in force next year. Further measures to decriminalise the recreational use of other drugs could be on the agenda after that.
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鈥淥ur national strategy is due for renewal, and my job is to review it and make sure it鈥檚 relevant, and addresses the constantly changing drug landscape,鈥� said 脫 R铆ord谩in, speaking at a workshop on drug control at the London School of Economics this week.
His bill to legalise medically supervised injecting centres in Ireland is already drafted and due to be approved by the Irish cabinet by the end of the month.
脫 R铆ord谩in also said he was keen to pursue options for decriminalising the possession and use of drugs such as cannabis. To that end, he may be boosted by Thursday鈥檚 publication of a major independent report on the decriminalisation issue by the , a cross-party panel with membership from both houses of parliament that issues influential opinions on divisive issues. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a committee that鈥檚 seen all the evidence, so it takes the politics out of it,鈥� says 脫 R铆ord谩in.
Portuguese example
The justice committee is after members visited Portugal 鈥� where drug use has been decriminalised since 2001 鈥� to see how the system operates.
At the workshop in London, Alcina L贸 of Portugal鈥檚 General Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies summarised , which include a reduction of deaths from overdoses from 80 in 2001 to 16 in 2012.
Over the same period, new HIV cases per year among drug users have fallen from 1016 to 56.
Four US states have also introduced laxer laws on cannabis use 鈥� Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon. Yesterday, . The new measure would have allowed cannabis plants to be grown commercially across the state and in small quantities at home.
There were also rumours last month that the UN鈥檚 Office on Drugs and Crime was poised to release a report backing decriminalisation, but the agency later .
Image credit:聽Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty
