There is a long standing issue of drug abuse in this country that doesn’t appear to be showing signs of resolving itself any time soon. Syringes being found in public places, addicts using heroin on the streets in daylight and rising crime resulting from the need for addicts to feed their habit are stories that feature regularly in the media. Cocaine is widely available and abuse of prescription drugs and poly drug use are serious problems.
As a young garda in Dublin in 1980 I encountered heroin for the first time and the carnage that’s associated with that particular drug. It was a major problem then and it remains a serious problem to this day. I have witnessed many initiatives over the years designed to combat the rising problem of drug abuse but unfortunately they have all come and gone with little apparent long term success.
Removing dealers from the streets provides temporary relief that only lasts for as long as it takes to have them replaced. Crop failure was one factor that had a definite impact on the drug scene and those effects were seen from the producer right down to the user on the street. But this too was intermittent and temporary. The sad reality is that there will always be a ready supply of illicit drugs as long as there is a demand for them.
If anything, the situation has become even more difficult to combat given the availability of drugs on the internet. The image of the sleazy drug dealer on the street corner doing his dealing in the dark or outside schools trying to snare new young customers is outdated. Drug dealers come in all shapes and sizes and can represent many professions just like their customers. Abuse of prescription drugs has also become a major issue.
Parents often find it difficult to believe that their child is using drugs because he or she would be described as just a regular kid. The common stereotype of the junkie who is horribly thin and strung out may be the parent’s image of a drug taker but the reality is that the majority are just regular kids.
There are many individuals and oganisations, both voluntary and statutory, who are making Trojan efforts trying to deal with those affected by addiction. There are many services offering counselling, rehab, detox facilities and more. They are sticking their fingers into the many holes in the dam but unfortunately they are fighting a losing battle and this is something that needs to be acknowledged.
The men and women of the Customs and An Garda Siochana who are at the coal face of drug enforcement are being put to the pin of their collar to make a serious dent in the drugs business. They have neither the necessary budgets nor the resources required to do anything else and if this is to change then a number of things have to happen.
Politicians and law enforcement agencies must admit and acknowledge that their efforts so far are not sufficient and that the drug situation is spiralling out of control. This is nothing to be ashamed of so let’s stop putting political spin on the ‘war on drugs’ and call it as it is. It’s a worldwide problem that no agency has of yet been able to resolve.
In America, a group of more than 1,000 campaigners, celebrities, law enforcement figures and politicians, including the likes of billionaire Warren Buffet and US former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, have called for a shift in global drug policy from emphasising criminalisation and punishment to health and human rights. Their open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the war on drugs has failed.
There needs to be a change in attitude to the way the users are supported. Consideration needs to be given to the idea of providing safe, clean, supervised injecting areas, with supports available for the users. These addicts are injecting in busy urban areas and children have been finding discarded needles. So let’s do something about it.
There needs to be an attempt to reduce the demand through a modern and properly resourced education module provided to our young people who are the potential users of the future. They must be educated to understand that the back street labs that are involved in this trade are unregulated, unhygienic and have absolutely no interest in quality control. They need to understand the danger associated with this.
There is no magic wand solution to this issue and the road will be long, demanding and expensive. This journey must begin with honesty. The authorities must be honest and accept that the problem is out of control and their efforts to date to tackle the issue have not been successful. They must be prepared to be in for the long haul. It’s not enough to just jump up and down with indignation every time we lose someone to an overdose.
The days of the uniformed garda or the doctor in the white coat advising our young people not to use drugs are long gone. We need a new approach and it has been suggested that we should assume that many ‘normal’ young people will inevitably experiment with drugs and that they expect to do so with minimal risk. Instead of targeting this group in an attempt to stop them from taking drugs, it is suggested that we adopt a different approach through ‘harm reduction drug education’.
So rather than placing the focus on reducing the number of drug users, maybe we should focus instead on making the actual drug user more informed in order to reduce harm and reduce drug abuse. It’s a kind of damage limitation if you like.
This is a bit more radical but maybe it’s worth considering.