People caught with cannabis three times more likely to be prosecuted than to receive Garda caution

People caught with cannabis for personal use are three times more likely to be prosecuted than to receive a Garda caution despite a policy shift away from criminal sanction, a report has found.

A Government analysis of alternatives to coercive sanctions (ACSc) identified nine pathways that already exist and that move away from the traditional criminal justice response. It comes on foot of the Citizens’ Assembly’s support for a health-led response to drug use and a broader European push for member states to embrace alternative responses.

“Criminalisation of drug possession has shown to be ineffective in reducing drug use while concurrently causing harm to individuals and society and placing continual pressure on justice system resources,” notes the report, published on Tuesday.

One such alternative response to possession, the Garda Adult Cautioning Scheme for simple possession, has also had limited use in respect of cannabis, it said. Between December 2020 and last February, a total of 5,139 people were given an official caution compared with the 17,125 people who were prosecuted.

The report identified an overall appetite for ACSs among stakeholders, particularly among probation and court workers and within the judiciary. “Ireland is at the precipice of transforming how its justice system responds to drug use in a more effective and humane way,” it says.

Part of the current European Drugs Action Plan identifies a need for member states to “scale up the availability” of measures provided as alternatives to coercive sanctions.

The recent Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use recommended expanding alternatives such as restorative justice and youth diversion schemes, as well as a comprehensive health-led response to possession for personal use.

Of the nine existing alternative responses for drug possession, only the Garda caution system operates on a national basis, although amid some concern about a lack of general awareness.

Other potential responses include the Dublin and Limerick-based Law Engagement & Assisted Recovery (Lear) programme which focuses on engaging with individuals with complex needs.

The Dublin Drug Treatment Court, made permanent in 2006, applies to residents of the north inner city area who have committed minor crimes as a consequence of illicit drug use and focuses on treatment and rehabilitation. Court-based programmes also operate in Co Louth and Cork, while the report points to various drug treatment programmes as other existing alternative pathways.

Tony Duffin, independent chair of the group that produced the report, said as well as mapping such options, it “highlights a growing willingness among practitioners to expand these options further”.