Debate contribution: Drug-testing Schemes

Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on 30 September 2025.

MLA

Mr Gerry Carroll

Party at the time

People Before Profit Alliance

Date

30 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Drug-testing Schemes

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5143279

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Members on the opposite Benches for tabling the motion. It is very important that we discuss the topic, as well as the fact that the state's current zero-tolerance approach to drugs is not working and that the war on drugs has categorically failed. Criminal penalties for drug possession are not working. There is no evidence that the small reduction in illegal drug use since the 90s is related to criminal penalties for personal drug possession. People who are suffering from poor mental health and addiction do not need our judgement, condemnation or criminalisation. Drug-use deaths are almost six times higher in the areas of highest deprivation than in the areas of lowest deprivation. I commend my GP, Dr McKenna, who recently spoke out in 'The Irish News' about the links between deprivation, poverty and bad health outcomes. Too many people who are experiencing addiction are trapped in a chaotic cycle of imprisonment and release, often into homelessness, and the risk of overdose is hugely increased for prisoners when they are released. I and many others believe that criminalisation and a zero-tolerance approach to drugs is harmful. It also deters people from coming forward for treatment if they want it. To put it mildly, there are therefore problems with the amendment, and I will not be supporting it for that reason. It also completely ignores the reality that people do take drugs, and many of them do so at events such as festivals and concerts — not just young people, but, in many cases, young people. Drug consumption is a fact of life, and lecturing people — young people in particular — will not work. A public health harm reduction approach acknowledges that fact and operates in a different format. A harm reduction approach to drugs in our society would be transformative, especially for working-class communities. It would require formative change across the health service and broader society. If harm reduction was given proper attention and funding, which, unfortunately, it is not, front-line workers could proactively engage with known drug users to distribute essential items such as clean needles and other products. Health workers and volunteers could be trained in administering naloxone to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Medically supervised injection facilities could be established in every trust area for everyone who needs them, but that is not the case. Back-of-house drug testing should be available not just at festivals but at all hospitality venues where drugs are likely to be consumed. Somewhat connected to the debate, all venues should be commanded to provide anti-spiking facilities. They are not expensive, and responsibility for providing them should be put on the venues, nightclubs, bars and so forth, because we have seen an increase in spiking. Festivalgoers at the likes of Electric Picnic have access to free and confidential back-of-house drug checking. Those are non-monitored safe spaces where people can submit substances for analysis without any judgement. That is really important. Festivals have seen a 10% to 25% reduction in drug-related harm because people have come forward when voluntary drug-testing facilities have operated on-site. Drug testing, despite the propaganda against it, saves lives. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee noted that, since 2016, there had been no drug-related deaths at festivals that had drug checking. That is really important. Plenty of other countries have moved further towards the legalisation of recreational drugs. Uruguay, Canada and Germany are just some examples. Portugal has employed the decriminalisation —

Thank you. I thank the Member. I have not been following that as closely as she has, but if there is a citizens' assembly gathering evidence, undertaking research and making recommendations, the Health Minister and the Committee should absolutely look at that, so thanks for that intervention. I think that the Minister challenged the Portuguese model in answer to a question that I asked him a few weeks ago about endometriosis. I am happy to give way if he wants, but Portugal employed a decriminalisation approach and saw a significant fall in drug deaths and infectious transmission. That is important stuff.

Thanks, Minister, for that. That is useful. That is an issue, but the policy obviously worked. It was not matched by the funding, and that is an issue for the Portuguese Government and other Governments who are not investing where it is required. It speaks more to the funding not being put where it is needed rather than the policy. I thank the Minister for that. We need to look at the models that are working in reducing harm and deaths in Portugal and other countries.

The citizens' assembly talks about that. Anything less will mean that we will consign users of drugs to more decades of failure and misery. I support the motion —

— and the amendment.

798 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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