AN ADDICTION treatment service in Limerick has sought permission to visit to court sittings to get first-hand experience of how addicts are treated in the justice system and to make direct contact with people whose using gets them in trouble.
Coolmine Therapeutic Community has expressed interest in visiting and observing at local courts, Judge Patricia Harney told a sitting of Limerick District Court.
The judge revealed the addiction service’s request while reviewing a case against a man for possession of cannabis.
Judge Harney said that Ian Rawson (39), of Willow Park, Raheen, County Limerick, “just doesn’t seem to get it” when it comes to using cannabis.
Mr Rawson was before Judge Harney for a review of his meetings with the probation service following the charge.
The judge said she was concerned with the probationer’s attitude to the drug.
“He tells the probation service he is embarrassed about the charge,” she said. “But he thinks he can operate with an acceptable level of criminality.”
“He says he can manage it (the cannabis). He doesn’t seem to get that he’s doing something illegal. He’s contributing to the drugs network in Limerick by buying cannabis, but he actually doesn’t see anything wrong with that.”
Mr Rawson’s solicitor said that his client’s use of the essential ingredient in cannabis “could be legalised through a GP’s prescription” with a legal cannabinoid replacement.
“Some people say it helps them to deal with stress,” the judge said. “But the fact is, what he is doing is illegal and just as night follows day, he will be caught again, because when he is buying cannabis, he is dealing with people that the Gardaà are watching.”
Judge Harney said she would put the matter back for further probation reports and for Mr Rawson “to address his cannabis use”.
The judge added that she accepted that “on one level, he is being honest and forthright with the probation service, which is good”, but she noted that it is Mr Rawson’s attitude to the illegal substance that is a matter for concern to the court.
– Court Reporting Scheme