The government is set to introduce a new “compassionate” approach to addiction.
An eight-year strategy launched yesterday aims to tackle the country’s co-dependent relationship with toxic substances, most notably alcohol.
The 50-point plan for “Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovering” will develop health-led programmes to enable people with substance abuse issues to rebuild their lives outside of the criminal justice system. It sets out a number of initiatives, including the establishment of a working group to consider decriminalisation of the possession of small amounts of street drugs.
The plan will also expand addiction services for pregnant and postnatal women, including examining the need for additional drug liaison midwives and developing interventions.
The number of detoxification and rehabilitation beds will be increased to improve the range of support for those who are homeless, and services for those in the Traveller, LGBTQ, and sex worker communities will be improved.
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One of the first initiatives to be implemented will be a pilot supervised-injection facility, which will open this autumn in Dublin city centre.
Leo Varadkar said that his vision for the country was one where a person suffering from substance abuse was not marginalised, ostracised, blamed, and then forgotten. “Treating substance abuse as a public health challenge, rather than a criminal justice matter, helps individuals, families, and communities,” the taoiseach said. “It also reduces crime because it rebuilds lives, so it benefits us all.”
Mr Varadkar said that Irish people had previously been unsympathetic towards social issues because they thought that problems with addiction could not happen to them. “Our hardened attitudes only served to further isolate and stigmatise people with drug problems,” he added.
The strategy was compiled after nearly two years of consultation, much of which was overseen by Catherine Byrne, the health promotion and drugs strategy minister.
Ms Byrne said that she wanted the strategy to be as compassionate as possible. “We have a high level of alcohol consumption and many Irish people engage in harmful drinking patters, which have significant health, social, and economic costs,” she said.
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“The minute the word ‘drug addict’ gets out, it labels the person forever. The truth is that every drug addict is different, but they are all human.”
The plan said that trends over the past decade point to an increase in the rate of recent and current drug use, with the greatest increases in young people aged 15 to 34.
Ms Byrne said that this cohort of people was one of the most concerning because when young people get involved in drugs they find “they can never fly away”. She added: “It is also very difficult because they might not be able to get a job, and we need to give these people solid options on how to get their lives back on track.”