There have been calls for cannabis to be decriminalised amid claims that the Department of Justice’s ‘war on drugs’ has failed.
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said a “senseless strategy of criminalisation” saw predominantly working class, young people jailed for possession of Class B drugs, including cannabis.
The West Belfast representative said “evidence globally clearly shows decriminalisation is the best approach”.
In its recent manifesto for the Republic’s general election, Fianna Fáil pledged to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use.
Mr Carroll’s remarks came as fresh figures showed there were 2,205 prosecutions for possession of Class B drugs last year.
Of the total prosecutions, some 1,936 resulted in convictions – a success rate of more than 87%.
Specific figures for cannabis convictions in Northern Ireland are not available and are instead included alongside other convictions for Class B drugs, which also include speed, ketamine, mephedrone and some amphetamines.
The highest number of convictions in the past five years was in 2021, when 2,037 people were found guilty of possession.
In addition to prosecutions and convictions in the courts, cases are often dealt with by way of a out of court diversionary disposal.
Last year there were 707 diversionary disposals for possession of Class B drugs.
In a written assembly question to Justice Minister Naomi Long, Mr Carroll asked for the number of court cases for people in possession of a personal amount of cannabis in the last five years and the average length of sentence, following a conviction.
The average length of custodial sentence imposed in 2023 following conviction at courts for possession of a Class B drug, according to the minister, was 92 days.
The PBP representative said the Department of Justice was “wasting massive amounts of time and resources in the pursuit of thousands of prosecutions each year for the possession of Class B drugs”.
Mr Carroll said the money “could be much better invested in drug prevention, education and support services in the community”.
“The senseless strategy of criminalisation sees predominantly working class young people locked behind bars for months on end, for minor offences,” he said.
“A significant number of those with custodial sentences will have held small amounts of these drugs, including cannabis, for personal use – the department’s war on drugs has demonstrably failed and they need to adopt a different approach.”
He urged the north to follow the example of a number of European countries, including Germany, Spain and Portugal where small amounts of cannabis for recreational purposes are permitted.
“The evidence globally clearly shows decriminalisation is the best approach,” the West Belfast MLA said.
