DOCSLIB.ORG

Working Group to Consider Alternative Approaches to the Possession of Drugs for Personal Use

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Working Group to Consider Alternative Approaches to the Possession of Drugs for Personal Use Working Group to Consider Alternative Approaches to the Possession of Drugs for Personal Use Report to: - Minister for Health, Simon Harris T.D. and Minister for Justice and Equality, Charles Flanagan T.D. - Minister of State for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne T.D. PREFACE .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR ....................................................................................................................................... 3 TERMS OF REFERENCE .............................................................................................................................................. 3 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND SUMMARY OF MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................ 5 RECOMMENDED POLICY OPTIONS .............................................................................................................................. 7 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 8 2 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 BACKGROUND TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORKING GROUP ..................................................................... 10 2.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 MEMBERSHIP .......................................................................................................................................... 15 2.4 WORK PROGRAMME ................................................................................................................................ 16 3 THE CURRENT LEGISLATIVE REGIME, RATIONALE AND EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS ............................ 17 3.1 THE IRISH LEGAL SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 THE MISUSE OF DRUGS ACTS 1977 – 2016 ................................................................................................. 18 3.3 GARDA SÍOCHÁNA ACT 2005 ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.4 THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SPENT CONVICTIONS AND CERTAIN DISCLOSURES) ACT ................................................... 23 3.5 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CURRENT APPROACH ................................................................................................. 24 3.6 UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE CURRENT APPROACH ............................................................................. 25 4 ALTERNATIVES TO CONVICTION IN IRELAND ......................................................................................... 27 4.1 GENERAL ................................................................................................................................................ 27 4.2 PROBATION ACT 1907.............................................................................................................................. 28 4.3 DRUG TREATMENT COURT ......................................................................................................................... 28 4.4 JUVENILE DIVERSION PROGRAMME.............................................................................................................. 29 4.5 ADULT CAUTIONING SCHEME ..................................................................................................................... 30 5 DRUGS SITUATION IN IRELAND ............................................................................................................. 32 5.1 PREVALENCE DATA ................................................................................................................................... 32 5.2 DRUG TREATMENT DATA ........................................................................................................................... 33 5.3 PROFILE OF PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS ......................................................................................................... 34 5.4 NATIONAL DRUG-RELATED DEATHS INDEX (NDRDI) ...................................................................................... 34 5.5 DRUG MARKET ........................................................................................................................................ 35 5.6 DRUG-RELATED OFFENCES ......................................................................................................................... 36 5.7 PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON DRUGS ................................................................................................................ 38 5.8 TREATMENT SERVICES AVAILABLE ................................................................................................................ 39 6 EXAMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES ..................................................................................... 41 6.1 RESEARCH COMMISSIONED ........................................................................................................................ 41 6.2 APPROACHES AND EXPERIENCES IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS ................................................................................ 42 6.3 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES ......................................................................................... 44 6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE IRISH CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 46 7 CONSULTATIONS UNDERTAKEN BY THE WORKING GROUP ................................................................... 47 7.1 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS ................................................................................................................ 47 1 7.2 PRESENTATIONS TO THE WORKING GROUP ................................................................................................... 50 7.3 PRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE PORTUGUESE APPROACH .............................................................................. 54 7.4 WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED ............................................................................................................... 57 8. POLICY APPROACHES CONSIDERED ....................................................................................................... 58 8.1 RATIONALE ............................................................................................................................................. 58 8.2 RANGE OF APPROACHES ............................................................................................................................ 58 8.3 POLICY OPTIONS CONSIDERED .................................................................................................................... 62 9 COSTINGS OF ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO PERSONAL DRUG POSSESSION ....................................... 69 9.1 OVERVIEW OF COSTINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CURRENT APPROACH ............................................................... 69 9.2 ANALYSIS OF COSTS OF CURRENT SYSTEM ..................................................................................................... 69 9.3 SCENARIO ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................. 71 10 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 75 10.1 POLICY OPTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 75 10.2 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 76 ADDENDA ...................................................................................................................................................... 79 ADDENDUM I ................................................................................................................................................. 80 ADDENDUM II ................................................................................................................................................ 81 ADDENDUM III ............................................................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX I .................................................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX II ................................................................................................................................................... 86 APPENDIX III .................................................................................................................................................. 87 APPENDIX IV .................................................................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX V ................................................................................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX VI .................................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The FARC and Colombia's Illegal Drug Trade
    LATIN AMERICAN PROGRAM © JOHN VIZCANO/Reuters The FARC and Colombia’s Illegal Drug Trade By John Otis November 2014 Introduction In 2014, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Latin America’s oldest and largest guerrilla army known as the FARC, marked the 50th anniversary of the start of its war against the Colombian government. More than 220,000 people have been killed1 and more than five million people uprooted2 from their homes in the conflict, which is the last remaining guerrilla war in the Western Hemisphere. However, this grim, half-century milestone coincides with peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC that began in Havana, Cuba, in November 2012. The Havana talks have advanced much farther than the three previous efforts to negotiate with the FARC and there is a growing sense that a final peace treaty is now likely.3 So far, the two sides have reached agreements on three of the five points on the negotiating agenda, including an accord to resolve an issue that helps explain why the conflict has lasted so long: The FARC’s deep involvement in the taxation, production, and trafficking of illegal drugs. On May 16, 2014, the government and the FARC signed an agreement stating that under the terms of a final peace treaty, the two sides would work in tandem to eradicate coca, the plant used to make cocaine, and to combat cocaine trafficking in areas under guerrilla control. The FARC “has promised to effectively contribute, in diverse and practical ways, to a definitive solution to the problem of illegal drugs,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in a televised speech the day the accord was signed.4 “The Havana talks have advanced much farther than the three previous efforts to negotiate with the FARC and there is a growing sense that a final peace treaty is now likely.” A month later, Santos secured more time to bring the peace talks to a successful conclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Drugs Policy in the New Programme for Government
    Issue 37 Spring 2011 drugnetIRELAND Newsletter of the Alcohol and Drug Research Unit Drugs policy in the new Hearing the voices of service users programme for government As this newsletter goes to press, the government See pages 5–7. has not announced its intentions with regard to the future location of the Offi ce of the Minister for Drugs and its functions. However, the new programme for government, Government for National Recovery 2011–2016,1 contains a To have Drugnet Ireland number of actions related to drugs policy. This delivered to your desktop, article attempts to identify the implications of sign up on the NDC website these actions should they be implemented. Actions related to crime and justice www.drugsandalcohol.ie We will introduce roadside drug testing programmes to combat the problem of driving under the infl uence of drugs. The development of reliable roadside testing procedure has been a challenging issue for many > From research to policy: countries. At present the Garda Síochána, the Department of Transport and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety are collaborating in the development of a scheme to introduce US-style roadside tests the Sax Institute seminar on suspected drug drivers to accompany roadside alcohol tests. > HSE plan for drug- We will ensure that violent offenders and other serious offenders serve appropriate prison sentences while related services in 2011 at the same time switching away from prison sentences and towards less costly non-custodial options for non-violent and less serious offenders. > Update on drug-related The fi rst Bill introduced by the new Minister for Justice and Law Reform is the Criminal Justice deaths and deaths (Community Service) (Amendment) (No.
    [Show full text]
  • Asia, International Drug Trafficking, and Us-China Counternarcotics
    THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION CENTER FOR NORTHEAST ASIAN POLICY STUDIES ASIA, INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING, AND U.S.-CHINA COUNTERNARCOTICS COOPERATION Zhang Yong-an Associate Professor and Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts; and Executive Director, David F. Musto Center for Drug Policy Studies Shanghai University February 2012 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington D.C. 20036-2188 Tel: (202)797-6000 Fax: (202)797-2485 http://www.brookings.edu 1. Introduction The end of the Cold War may have heralded an end to certain tensions, but among other unforeseen effects it also precipitated a significant increase in the flow of illegal drugs across traditional national boundaries. International travel has become easier in an increasingly borderless world, and―although international drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have never respected national boundaries―newly globalized markets for drug production and exportation, along with changing patterns of consumption in some societies, have had an enormous impact on drug trafficking. In short, the global market for illicit drugs, and the capacity of providers to deliver to this market, is expanding inexorably around the world. What was once called “the American disease”1 has become a global one. 2 The international community first took an interest in the Asian drug trade at the beginning of the 20th century. The Shanghai Opium Commission in 1909 was the first attempt at regulating drug trade in the region, as countries including the United States, Great Britain, China, Japan, and Russia convened to discuss the growing trafficking of opium. Since then, numerous measures have been adopted by individual countries and collectively to curb the illegal drug trade.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
    United States Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Volume I Drug and Chemical Control March 2020 INCSR 2020 Volume 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents Common Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... iii International Agreements.................................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Legislative Basis for the INCSR ......................................................................................................................... 2 Presidential Determination ................................................................................................................................. 7 Policy and Program Developments .................................................................................................... 12 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Methodology for U.S. Government Estimates of Illegal Drug Production .......................................................... 18 Parties to UN Conventions ..............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 2 [173]
    STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS. S.I. No. 173 of 2017 ———————— MISUSE OF DRUGS REGULATIONS 2017 2 [173] S.I. No. 173 of 2017 MISUSE OF DRUGS REGULATIONS 2017 ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS PART 1 Preliminary and General 1. Citation and commencement. 2. Interpretation. PART 2 Issuing of Prescriptions by Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives 3. Provisions applicable to practitioners who are registered nurses or regis- tered midwives. 4. Person may refuse to supply drug if reasonable cause to believe conditions referred to in regulation 3 have not been satisfied. PART 3 Production, Supply, Importation and Exportation of Controlled Drugs 5. General prohibition. 6. Licences. 7. Administration. 8. Exemption for practitioners, pharmacists, etc. 9. Supply. PART 4 Possession of Controlled Drugs 10. General exemptions. 11. Exemption to possess butan-1,4-diol or dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one. 12. Exemption for midwives in respect of pentazocine and pethidine. 13. General authorities. PART 5 Documentation and Record-Keeping 14. Documents to be obtained by a supplier. [173] 3 15. Form of prescriptions. 16. Supply on prescription. 17. Marking of containers. 18. Documents required for export of controlled drugs. 19. Keeping of registers for drugs in Schedules 1 and 2. 20. Record-keeping in particular cases for drugs in Schedule 2. 21. Keeping of records for drugs in Schedules 3 and 4. 22. Preservation of registers, etc. 23. Preservation of records for drugs in Schedules 3, Part 1 of Schedule 4, and Schedule 5. 24. Furnishing of information with respect to controlled drugs. PART 6 Miscellaneous 25. Destruction of certain drugs. 26. Disposal of certain drugs on cessation of business.
    [Show full text]
  • Police Recorded Drug Seizures and Arrests in Northern Ireland
    Police Recorded Drug Seizures and Arrests in Northern Ireland Update to 30 September 2019 Date of Publication: The number of drug seizure incidents and drug-related 29 November 2019 arrests recorded by the police have shown an upwards trend since 2006/07. Figures for the latest 12 months confirm that Frequency of Publication: this upwards trend is continuing. Biannually In 12 months from 1st October 2018 to 30th September 2019: Issued by: . There were 7,941 drug seizure incidents, an increase PSNI Statistics Branch of 764 (10.6 per cent) on the previous 12 months. Lisnasharragh 42 Montgomery Road . Higher levels of seizure incidents were seen across Belfast each class of drugs. BT6 9LD . Cannabis (Class B) was the most commonly seized drug, followed by cocaine (Class A) and [email protected] benzodiazepines (Class C). 028 9065 0222 Ext. 24135 . All but two policing districts showed an increase in drug seizure incidents. Web PSNI Statistics . There were 3,618 drug-related arrests, an increase of 294 (8.9 per cent) when compared with the previous 12 months. Six policing districts showed an increase in drug- related arrests, with Belfast City showing the largest increase. 0 Contents Page 1. Things you need to know about this release 2 Drug Seizures 2. What is happening to drug seizures over the longer term? 3 3. What has been happening to drug seizures more recently? 4 4. Drug seizures - what has been happening in policing districts? 6 Drug-related Arrests 5. What is happening to drug-related arrests over the longer term? 7 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Illegal Drug Trade in Africa: Trends and U.S. Policy
    Illegal Drug Trade in Africa: Trends and U.S. Policy Liana Sun Wyler Analyst in International Crime and Narcotics Nicolas Cook Specialist in African Affairs September 30, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R40838 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Illegal Drug Trade in Africa: Trends and U.S. Policy Summary Africa has historically held a peripheral role in the transnational illicit drug trade, but in recent years has increasingly become a locus for drug trafficking, particularly of cocaine. Recent estimates suggest that each year between 46 and 300 metric tons of South American cocaine may transit West Africa en route to Europe. Recent cocaine seizure levels are sharply higher than those in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which in all of Africa rarely exceeded 1 metric ton a year. Africa’s emergence as a trafficking nexus appears to have resulted from structural shifts in international drug trafficking patterns, including heighted European demand for cocaine, international counternarcotics pressure driving drug traffickers away from traditional trafficking routes, and the operational allure for traffickers of low levels of law enforcement capacity and high rates of corruption in many African countries. The growth of drug trafficking through Africa poses new challenges to international counternarcotics efforts, as well as a variety of emergent threats to the United States. Novel strategies and adaptations of existing efforts may be required to track emergent drug flow patterns, dismantle major criminal syndicates involved in such trafficking, and prevent future hotspots from emerging. While most of the cocaine transiting Africa is destined for Europe, and little of it enters the United States, other illicit substances trafficked through the region, notably heroin and illegally traded chemical precursors used to produce illicit drugs, do enter the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations and Marijuana: the Potential Effects of U.S
    Elliott School of International Affairs/Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission: Capstone Report Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations and Marijuana: The Potential Effects of U.S. Legalization April 26, 2011 Chad Murray, Ashlee Jackson Amanda C. Miralrío, Nicolas Eiden Table of Contents Clarification of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Objectives, Methodology, and Definitions ................................................................... 2 Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Terms: Possibilities Defined ..................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Current Issues for Consideration: the Laws, the Numbers, and the Organizations ...... 5 The International Drug Control Regime ................................................................................................... 5 U.S. Marijuana Laws ................................................................................................................................ 5 California Marijuana Legislation .............................................................................................................. 6 Arguments
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Drug Policy and Reform: a Research Report by Trinity FLAC In
    Researchers Nicola O’Corrbui, Veronica Janice Bleeker, Deirbhile Kearney, Samantha Tancredi, Michael O’Shea, Lui Guiney, Elizabeth Ring, Aoife Cantrell, Yvonne McDonagh, Chloe Dalton, Serena Oster, Caoilainn McDaid, Ellen Hennessy, Aoibh Cassidy, Cormac Bergin, Blake Catriona, Katherine Byrne, Catherine Teevan, Julia Best, Siofra Carlin, Madeeha Akhtar, Kate Nolan, Adam Elebert, Eolann Davis, Rory Gavigan, Ronan McGurrin, Ross Malervy, Aoife Enright, Lucy Tann Robinson, Sophia Treacy. Editor: Celia Reynolds With thanks to: Liam Herrick, Irish Council for Civil Liberties Michelle Martyn, Irish Penal Reform Trust 1 DISCLAIMER Trinity FLAC assumes no responsibility for and gives no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up-to-date nature of the information provided in this report and/or for any consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, legal or otherwise. The information provided in this report is not a complete source of information on all aspects of the law. Trinity FLAC takes no responsibility for any information or advice passed from a client to a third party. If you need professional or legal advice you should consult a suitably qualified person at one of our weekly clinics. If there are any questions, please contact: [email protected] 2 Trinity FLAC Irish Drug Policy and Reform Research Report Table of Contents Introduction 4 FLAC Legal Research Officer: Celia Reynolds I: Models for Drug Control 6 Nicola O’Corrbui, Deirbhile Kearney, Michael O’Shea,
    [Show full text]
  • How the United States Can Defeat N Arco-Terrorism
    Mycoherbicides and Alternative Development: How the United States Can Defeat N arco-Terrorism Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, Ph.D* and Aylana Meisel Narco-terroristsl and international criminal organizations thrive on the illegal drug trade, threatening global security. Their complex partnerships link illegal drugs, money, geography, and politics. Narco-terrorist activities finance many of the world's most violent conflicts, including the increasingly intense wars of the Mexican cartels, terrorist groups such as the F ARC (Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia)2 in Latin America, the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization),3 Hezbollah, Hamas4 in the Middle East, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other radical Muslim organizations in Pakistan, Mghanistan, and elsewhere. Terrorists' and criminals' mutually beneficial activities include: illegal arms trafficking, extortion, and protection rackets; kidnapping; prostitution rings and human trafficking; credit card, social security, and immigration fraud; identity theft; tax fraud; counterfeiting currencies, pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, alcohol, and other materials; pirating videos, compact discs, tapes, and software; and illegal oil trade. • Dr. Ehrenfeld is the Director of the Economic Warfare Institute at the American Center for Democracy, located in New York City (www.econwarfare.org). Dr. Ehrenfeld is the author of the books Funding Evil: How Terror is Financed and How to Stop It, Evil Money: Encounters Along the Money Trail, and Narco-terrorism: How Governments Around the World Have Used the Drug Trade to Finance and Further Terrorist Activities. Aylan Meisel is the Legal Fellow at the Economic Warfare Institute. 1 MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 824 (11th ed. 2003) (defining "narco-terrorism" as "terrorism financed by profits from illegal drug trafficking").
    [Show full text]
  • A Wiser Course: Ending Drug Prohibition, Fifteen Years Later
    A Wiser Course: Ending Drug Prohibition, Fifteen Years Later A Statement from the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Drugs and the Law April 2009 Introduction In 1994, the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Drugs and the Law concluded that the societal costs of drug prohibition are too high to justify it as a policy and called for a national dialogue on alternatives. Fifteen years later, that dialogue has not occurred, we are no closer to a drug-free society, and the problems associated with the illegal drug trade are worse than ever. The starting point for a critical inquiry into U.S. drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The legal profession, in partnership with medical professionals and other stakeholders, should study the CSA and propose improvements to it where necessary. A Call for Dialogue Fifteen Years Ago On June 10, 1994, the Committee on Drugs and the Law (the “Committee”) of the New York City Bar Association released a report (the “Report”) entitled “A Wiser Course: Ending Drug Prohibition.” It is available at http://www.nycbar.org/pdf/report/94087WiserCourse.pdf The Report argued in detail, inter alia, that drug prohibition strains the judicial system with no apparent diminution in drug trade or drug use, fills prisons at great expense to the taxpayers, disproportionately punishes racial minorities, corrupts police and erodes constitutional rights, subsidizes organized crime, drafts poor children into the drug trade, causes violence by engendering competition over the lucrative illegal drug market, fails to decrease demand for drugs, facilitates the spread of disease and impairs the health of drug users, and diverts resources from prevention and treatment to law enforcement.
    [Show full text]
  • Illicit Drugs in North Carolina
    If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. Illicit Drugs in North Carolina A Perspective from fhe Governor's Crime Commission James B. Hunt Jr. Governor Thurman B. Hampton, Secretary Crime Control and Public Safety Compiled and Edited by The Criminal Justice Analysis Center 7 Illicit Drugs in North Carolina NCJRS. JUN 8 1993 ,<\ CQ U I SITION 5 A Perspective from The Governor's Crime Commission James B. Hunt Jr. Governor Thurman B. Hampton, Secretary Crime Control and Public Safety Compiled and Edited by The Criminal Justice Analysis Center 142547 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this ,I B&ifboaI material has been ~ljtc Danain/BJA u. S. Department of Justice to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the ~owner. Preface A major task for the GCC staff is to produce the annual state block grant application for Drug Control and System Improvement Act ftmds from the U.S. Department of Justice. The second half of that larger document is the "Nature and Extent of the Problem" which is an area of interest detailed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. This year Analysis undertook a complete rewrite of "The Nature and Extent of The Problem" to include some major studies we did plus get the current snapshot of how illegal substances are transported and distributed through our state.
    [Show full text]