The Irish War on Drugs The Seductive Folly of Prohibition

There have been many trenchant critiques of drug prohibition by policy analysts, economists, jurists, police chiefs and others. These critiques have had little impact despite the cogency of their arguments and the abundant evidence that drug prohibition is a disastrous failure in its own terms. This book dismantles the claims and defenses of prohibition, using the implementation of prohibition in Ireland over the last thirty years as a case study. In this period, the drug problem has grown from a minor issue to one of the country's most serious social problems. Irish policy, which at the level of political rhetoric adheres to an outright "war on drugs," has since 1996 invested hugely in harm reduction and social justice projects in an attempt to achieve a more balanced approach. Analyzing the empirical evidence on the effects of Irish drugs policy on crime, health, social and economic well-being and, crucially, on the prevalence of drug use, this book concludes that both the earlier, more rigid form of prohibition and the recent pragmatic compromise between prohibition and harm reduction have failed, and argues for a radical new approach.

Paul O'Mahony is a criminologist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin.