What the new Irish government says about drugs

Today the ‘Programme For Government’ was released by the new Irish government. The 156 page document outlines what policy the new Government will pursue during their tenure. The commitments cover an array of topics from health, homelessness, jobs, crime and much more.

You can read the Programme For Government in full here.

The programme for government makes very little reference to the topic of drug policy; however what is stated can perhaps be considered positive, or at least a change from the status quo. Some highlights:

A section on page 56 states that the new government will be.

Completing work and commencing implementation of a new National Drugs Strategy within 12 months.

It is good to see this commitment considering how vital the National Drugs Strategy (NDS) is, as it sets out our drug policy for the next few years. There are some signs to suggest the new NDS will be more progressive than previous incarnations. Leaked information on a report prepared for the NDS suggests Ireland should move away from criminalising people for the possession of drugs for personal use. Instead individuals should be subject to Garda caution rather than criminal prosecution.

Click here to read the full article.

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Thumbnail: Flickr Anna & Michal