By Dr Órfhlaith Campbell, Drug Policy Reform Activist

“Your children, they told our parents, will be safe now. With the peace deal, the days of young people disappearing and dying young would be gone. Yet this turned out to be a lie, too.” These are the closing words of Lyra McKee’s last article she was working on before her murder on 28th April, 2018. Another life lost to Northern Ireland’s inability to deal with the past and bring real peace to the lives of those for whom the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Lyra wrote extensively about this issue. The Ceasefire Babies article, quoted above, remains a stark reminder of the turmoil and mental health challenges faced by our generation—a generation that has lost more young people to suicide since the Troubles ended than during the entire conflict.

“Your children, they told our parents, will be safe now. With the peace deal, the days of young people disappearing and dying young would be gone. Yet this turned out to be a lie, too.” These are the closing words of Lyra McKee’s last article she was working on before her murder on 28th April, 2018. Another life lost to Northern Ireland’s inability to deal with the past and bring real peace to the lives of those for whom the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Lyra wrote extensively about this issue. The Ceasefire Babies article, quoted above, remains a stark reminder of the turmoil and mental health challenges faced by our generation—a generation that has lost more young people to suicide since the Troubles ended than during the entire conflict.

Alongside the harrowing rates of suicide, Northern Ireland has also suffered significantly from drug-related deaths. There is a strong connection between mental health issues, poverty, deprivation and substance use disorders. In fact drug related deaths are five times more likely in our areas of highest deprivation.

Northern Ireland currently has some of the highest drug related deaths in Western Europe and the highest drug-related deaths in the UK among the 18-34 age group. A 2023 research paper on Drug Overdoses and Drug Related Deaths in NI states that ‘the rate of deaths per 100,000 for people under 35 is alarmingly high’.

There deaths include individuals from the “ceasefire baby” generation and younger – the children who’s parents were told they would be safe following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The Grim Statistics

Northern Ireland’s drug related death statistics are distressing. In 2022, there were 154 drug-related deaths— 85% (126) of which involved illegal drugs. Of these, 74% (111) were classified as “accidental poisoning”. These numbers are not abstract—they represent family members, friends, and loved ones who should still be here. These are avoidable deaths that demand effective policy reform.

Just three weeks before Christmas 2024, another young woman born after the Good Friday Agreement lost her life on a night out with friends. This death was due to Northern Ireland’s inability to deal with its present. Initial reports suggest that the overdose was caused by a contaminated drug supply. While testing will confirm the exact contaminant it was likely a synthetic opioid; fentanyl or nitazenes. Synthetic opioids first appeared in drug supply in Northern Ireland in 2023 causing the deaths of six people under 30.

The emergence of such toxic drug supply is a direct consequence of prohibition. North America, particularly the USA and Canada, has faced mass deaths due to a contaminated drug supply for years. Harm reductionists, academics, front line workers and drug policy reform activists have repeatedly sounded the alarm, urging action in Ireland, the UK, and Europe before it is too late.

The Media’s Flawed Response

Following the young woman’s death in a Belfast night club, media outlets predictably leaned on the familiar “just say no” narrative and fear-driven headlines. This stigma surrounding recreational drug use fuels flawed responses. While the idea of teaching young people to “just say no” may seem logical, history proves it is ineffective. Young people take drugs. To cling to this narrative is not only outdated but dangerous. Repeating a failed strategy while asking young people to play “Russian roulette” with their lives is morally unacceptable. Practical steps could reduce risk and save lives by stopping the ‘accidental poisoning’ killing our young people.

Drug testing, for example, enables the identification of synthetic opioids and helps determine substance strength, allowing people who use drugs to adjust dosages and avoid overdose. In England, The Loop has established a drug-checking service and distributes alerts through social media, media outlets, and early warning systems when contaminated drugs are detected.

In the Republic of Ireland, following the emergence of synthetic opioids on the island in 2023, the HSE rapidly implemented a drug-testing alert system. Alerts have been issued within hours of contamination being found, appearing at music festivals and across social media platforms.

In May 2024, Sinn Féin and the SDLP submitted questions to the Minister for Health regarding drug testing. The Health Minister replied claiming funding was “difficult at this time” and that such a project would require interdepartmental conversations. As of December 2024, a new SDLP question on home drug testing kits awaits the Health Minister’s response. Will the new Minister challenge the status quo, or will history repeat itself?

The War on Drugs in Northern Ireland

In June 2024 Amnesty International called for “advancing new drug policies that uphold human rights.” The Time For Change report highlighted:

“the widespread human rights violations occurring as a direct consequence of the implementation of punitive drug policies. These include police abuses, discrimination, extrajudicial executions, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions, and violations of economic, social and cultural rights, including of the right to health. In some cases, abuses committed in the name of drug control have amounted to crimes against humanity.”

Much of the above can be seen in Northern Ireland throughout the last 26 years of “peace.” In terms of police abuse(s) the lasts figures show that 71% of stop-and-searches in Northern Ireland are conducted under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The arrest rate is a mere 8% and predominantly targeting young males aged 18–25. Moreover majority of drug seizures are not the large quantities that garners media attention and in fact the latest PSNI statistics show that between 2014 and 2024 the majority of seizures of cannabis for example were for weights of less than 5 grams.

In the early 2000s, during debates on rescheduling cannabis, the PSNI admitted:

“The reclassification of cannabis, although it may be logical from the point of view of harm to the users, poses problems for enforcement… Cannabis remains overwhelmingly the most widely available controlled drug in Northern Ireland… exploited by organized criminals and paramilitaries.”

Far from dismantling organized crime, the war on drugs has enabled paramilitary groups to dominate the black market, using drug profits to maintain power and coercion. Some paramilitaries exploit drug debts to manipulate young people into rioting. Others use claims of drug use and “antisocial behavior” as an excuse to inflict grievous bodily harm and child abuse in the name of “community safety.”

We need to pause and ask ourselves how we became a society that sees teenagers with drugs and vulnerable community members struggling with addiction as more dangerous than men with guns. How we became a society that shunned and stigmatised vulnerabilities rather than providing support within our communities. Twenty years later, the same policies that the PSNI advocated for above, remain in place. If prohibition worked, Northern Ireland would be an example of success. Instead drug use, availability, and deaths have all increased dramatically while paramilitary groups remain entrenched and in some cases, stronger than 30 years ago. Northern Ireland’s drug policies are failing. Yet, we are not even part of the broader conversation about how drug policy impacts our peace and progress.

Policy Failures and Westminster’s Role

Historically, Northern Ireland was slow to adopt harm reduction techniques. Today, harm reduction language features prominently in the 2021–2031 Substance Use Strategy. However progress remains limited suggesting that this is merely a buzzword as opposed to effective reform.

On 1st March 2023, Belfast City Council unanimously supported the opening of an Overdose Prevention Centre (OPC) in the city. All parties—except the DUP, who abstained—are on record in favor of the initiative. In March 2024, People Before Profit submitted a question to the Minister for Health about opening an OPC in Belfast. The Minister responded that “Overdose Prevention Centers are not permitted under the UK-wide Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.” The legal block to opening a OPC in Belfast was again confirmed in a January 2024 meeting of Belfast City Council.

Outcome A9 of the Substance Use Strategy states that the “NI Executive will work with the UK Government, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, to ensure the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 reflects the needs of Northern Ireland.” Therefore to cite the Misuse of Drugs Act as a barrier to implementing an OPC, while simultaneously committing to ensuring the Act reflects Northern Ireland’s needs, exposes the contradictions in Stormont’s approach. This circular reasoning demonstrates how Northern Ireland continues to stall on implementing meaningful drug policy reform.

Stormont held a debate on addiction and drug-related deaths in April 2024. This was following the announcement of the drug related death statistics for 2022. Statistics which are two years behind. During this debate a majority of parties publicly acknowledged that the “war on drugs” had failed and called for a health-led approach. However, the motion itself only urged support for “provisions aimed at harm prevention, harm reduction, and tackling addiction” within the framework of the existing Substance Use Strategy. The core issue here is that despite the strategies apparent commitment to harm reduction, it functions within the framework of the Misuse of Drugs Act therefore it acts within the framework of the war on drugs. As long as drug policy remains rooted in criminalization, efforts to reduce harm, address addiction and save lives will face persistent barriers.

2813 Forget- me- not flowers to represent the avoidable drug related deaths between 1999 and 2013

What Needs to Change?

The increasingly toxic drug supply crisis demands immediate action. Northern Ireland’s harm reductionists, despite their innovation and dedication, face systemic resistance and need funding and policy reform to implement the services that will save lives.

The Misuse of Drugs Act remains a non-devolved issue under Westminster’s control, meaning Stormont cannot repeal or reform this outdated legislation. Both the previous Conservative government and the current Labour government have rejected calls for meaningful drug policy reform. Without reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act at Westminster, Northern Ireland will continue to be restricted in its efforts to address drug-related harm and implement evidence-based, health-led approaches.

These are the short term reforms Northern Ireland urgently needs to save lives lie outside the current Substance Use Strategy and are actively blocked by Westminster’s Misuse of Drugs Act. The fight is with Westminster, and it is time to demand:

  • Decriminalization of drug use.
  • Drug testing to protect recreational users.
  • Overdose prevention centre to save lives and support vulnerable individuals.

This fear or apathy from Stormont when it comes to challenging Westminster on it’s war on drugs and implementing meaningful drug policy reform stands in sharp contrast to developments elsewhere. In 2023, the Scottish Government directly challenged Westminster by publishing a report calling for the devolution or repeal of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Scotland aims to open OPCs, decriminalize drug use, and adopt a health-centred approach. Similarly, in the Republic of Ireland, the 2023 Citizens’ Assembly and the 2024 Oireachtas Committee recommended decriminalization, repeal of section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act and the implementation of health-led over criminalisation policies.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

In the wake of the young woman’s tragic death in Belfast, only one article mentioned drug policy reform and highlighted the Portugal model of decriminalization. While decriminalization is a crucial step that must be implemented, it alone is not enough to eliminate the risk of death. With the rise of synthetic opioids, we face a fundamentally different situation than Portugal did in 2001. The conversation must advance to include drug testing, overdose prevention centres, legalization, and regulation as part of a comprehensive, evidence-based approach.

Globally, the tide is turning. In 2022, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, declared: “If drugs can destroy lives, the same is true of drug policy.” In March 2024, 60 countries at the United Nations collectively called for an end to the so-called “war on drugs”—a war that has, in reality, been a war on people. The policy destroying lives and enforcing a war on the people of Northern Ireland is Westminster’s Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971.

Scotland is leading the way, with its second overdose prevention centre opened in January The first was the unsanctioned overdose prevention van, operated by activist Peter Krykant. Holyrood’s challenge to Westminster provides a clear framework for Stormont to follow. Dublin, too, is moving forward and will open an overdose prevention centre before the end of the year.

If you live in Northern Ireland, write to your MLA now