Tony Duffin, the CEO of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, said that stigma against drug users is “very serious”
and that there needs to be a health-led approach to responding to drug use, rather than a criminal approach.
In this episode Tony talks to us about his upbringing in London, his Irish roots in Wexford, his family life and his work over the last 30+ years in harm reduction.
Duffin said that Ireland needs to change its laws around drugs to help address this stigma.
“Stigma is a huge issue. It does prevent people from coming forward to access treatment and rehabilitation
and other supports.
Duffin said that “In countries like Portugal, where they implemented the model of decriminalisation, which is essentially a
very good diversion scheme, they have seen stigma towards people who use drugs disappear. It took about 10 years, 15 years of treating it as a health issue before people realise and
start to say, ‘they’re not criminals, they’re people who need a bit of help’.”
Duffin added that he believes there is an important distinction between “drug use” and “problematic drug
use”,
To follow Tony's work and the work of Anna Liffey Drugs Project click below links
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