Youth RISE Executive Director Ruby Rose Lawlor’s 2024 opening statement to Ireland’s Joint Committee on Drugs Use, delivered during a session on decriminalisation, depenalisation, diversion and legalisation. It argues that punitive drug policies harm the young people they claim to protect, and calls on Ireland to decriminalise drug use and possession, legalise and regulate all drugs, and invest in communities, youth-friendly harm reduction, evidence-based education, and voluntary treatment.