> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://rebelnews.ghost.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Class and Addiction
- URL: https://rebelnews.ghost.io/class-and-addiction/
- Published: 2026-06-18T11:48:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T07:53:36.000Z
- Author: Ngaire Rasmussen
- Tags: Features, Opinion, Socialist Ireland, addiction, criminal justice reform, Criminal Justice System, drugs, HSE, rehabilitation, #Migrated-1790841191722, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-01 07:53

Amidst deepening economic insecurity, the mental distress of alienation in Ireland is increasingly manifested in the form of an addiction crisis. Alienation describes the estrangement people experience within capitalist society, and it is central to understanding why addiction occurs, and why it is a class issue. 

Although drug and alcohol use has long been a part of human culture, in Ireland, the prevalence of addiction appears to be showing an [upward trend](https://www.citywide.ie/decriminalisation/ireland/drug-use.html?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) over the past several decades. [Research](https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/44911/1/2026%5FJanuary%5FNDL%5FAlcohol%5Ffactsheet.pdf?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) published in January, 2026 shows that alcohol alone is estimated to contribute to 3–4 deaths per day, while around 20% of the population are at risk of harmful drinking. Ireland also has one of the highest rates of [fetal alcohol spectrum disorders](https://www.fasdireland.ie/ireland-high-levels-of-fasd?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) globally. Alongside alcohol, drug use patterns are shifting: problematic cocaine use increased by roughly 200% between 2017 and 2024 in combination with other substances.

It is not a coincidence that this crisis of addiction converges with several others - housing, cost of living, gender based violence - as decades of neoliberal social policy have resulted in a working class that is isolated, traumatized, apathetic and powerless.

 The goods they produce are often inaccessible to them; a worker may build houses they cannot afford to live in, or cook food they cannot afford to eat. Work is a meaningless drudgery for survival that leads nowhere. Social relationships are mediated by the market, positioning individuals as competitors.

 This sense of powerlessness and disconnection is not incidental but structural, embedded within the institutions and organizations that control us. Decisions that shape our world—from public housing, to a climate emergency, to an ongoing genocide, going on year after year —appear beyond reach, while everyday life is utterly dominated by the need to work simply to survive.

While anyone can become addicted in an alienated society,[ working-class people experience higher levels of drug-related harm,](https://stand.ie/stand-newsroom/irelands-drug-addiction-crisis-out-control-desperate-need-policy-reform??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) including criminal justice involvement, health complications, and barriers to treatment. A worker in precarious employment may face a stark choice: continue working while struggling with addiction, or seek treatment and risk losing income, housing, or employment altogether. Many have no access to sick leave and may fear stigma or disciplinary consequences if they disclose their situation.

Inequalities in “the social determinants of health”, such as income, housing, employment, and access to services, are intensified for those facing multiple forms of oppression, including women, LGBTQ+ people, migrants, Travellers, and people with disabilities.

By contrast, more affluent groups are buffered from these harms. Property owners and higher-income professionals are better able to access treatment, including private care, to take time off work, and recover without risking their material stability. If they encounter the criminal justice system, they are more likely to afford legal representation and avoid long-term consequences. They are also more likely to have stable networks of support to sustain them and their families through recovery.

The difference between addiction among working and wealthy people is perhaps most stark at the connection between [the criminal justice system and addiction](https://www.universityofgalway.ie/media/healthpromotionresearchcentre/hbscdocs/nationalreports/Nat-Rep-2011-emcdda-Ireland%5F2011.pdf?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io). Drug-related offences account for a significant share of policing activity, stabilising at roughly [16,000 incidents per year since the pandemic spike](https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-rc/recordedcrimeq32025/detailedoffencegroups/?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) \- much of which is concentrated in Dublin's most deprived communities. [70% of prisoners](https://www.irishprisons.ie/prisoner-services/drug-treatment-services/??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) have addiction issues, and over half are waiting for psychological or addiction services. Despite this, state spending on addiction services remains limited. The HSE estimates approximately [€114 million is spent annually,](https://www.drugs.ie/news/article/addiction%5Fservices%5Fcosting%5Fstate%5F114m%5Fthis%5Fyear??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) equating to roughly €2.50–€3.50 per at-risk person per week. This raises a question: Does the state of Ireland and mainstream culture see addiction as a health issue or a crime issue? In reality, it is neither, but understanding why is important.

#### Criminalisation

In Ireland, possession of illicit drugs remains a criminal offence and so the majority of drug offences are for simple possession. In addition, the over policing of poor and working class neighbourhoods means drug users and alcohol users in these areas also get charged with offences for things like public intoxication and stealing essential goods. At all stages, the criminalisation of working class people functions as a form of social control by the state. 

The threat of arrest and imprisonment is applied unevenly, with [the greatest intensity in the ](https://www.hrb.ie/press-releases/new-hrb-report-examines-drug-use-in-ireland?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io)[most deprived communitie](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/drugs-driving-crime-rates-with-capital-worst-hit/34251738.html?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com)s. Having a criminal record, being incarcerated, or even being known to police can restrict employment to more exploitable and precarious sectors. It can interfere with accessing stable housing, parenting, and the freedom to move across borders. A wealthy person, however, can escape criminalisation with minimal lasting impacts and a high likelihood of recovery. They might have property and assets to support them through a period of unemployment, and be able to afford good legal representation to fight their case. Finally, this reinforces an ideological narrative in which addiction is framed as an individual problem, and diverts attention away from the small proportion of people responsible for large-scale drug distribution, while concentrating law enforcement on low-level users. Capitalism thrives on inequality. The continual degradation of working class people through a cycle of criminalization deepens those inequalities, while benefitting the capitalist state by redirecting the blame for the addiction crisis to the people who are the most impacted by it. 

#### Rehabilitation

Historically, addiction was treated as a moral or spiritual failing. With the establishment of modern medicine, addiction has come to be thought of as a disease. With modern psychology, a more nuanced shift has occurred towards [biopsychosocial models](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659890500114359?needAccess=true&ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) which recognise the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. Likewise, alongside criminalisation, the state promotes a health-led approach, treating addiction as a complex healthcare issue. Services provided through the HSE and voluntary sector include counselling, substitution therapies, and community support.

However, because healthcare under capitalism will always be burdened by the limitations of a state that functions to maximise profits, these services are limited in scope and accessibility. [Waiting lists](https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/view/subjects/LY18.default.html??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) for many publicly funded addiction services remain prohibitively long despite recent reductions, and treatment often focuses on individual behaviour change without addressing the underlying social conditions. 

The privatisation of healthcare services lowers the quality of care while [increasing the cost to the state](https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-01-22/1355/??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io), and publicly funded rehabilitation aims to restore individuals to productivity over wellness, enabling them to re-enter the workforce, without addressing the structural causes of addiction. Other initiatives are purely exploitative, like the [Minimum Unit Pricing Scheme](https://universitytimes.ie/2025/09/minimum-unit-pricing-for-alcohol-three-years-on/?ref=rebelnews.ghost.io), as they increase the profits of alcohol for sellers and retailers while doing nothing to benefit alcohol users. 

Understanding addiction singularly as a health issue under capitalism is insufficient; it treats addiction as an individual problem, focusing on personal vulnerability, childhood experiences, and psychology - as though these things exist in a vacuum - rather than acknowledging the broader conditions in which it emerges. But capitalist states benefit from the ideological narrative that addiction is an individual or family health issue, because it allows them to prioritize profits for associates and focus on maintaining an exploitable workforce while minimising spending - all while directing attention away from them.

#### A Third Way Forward

Moving to decriminalise all drugs could significantly reduce harm and remove barriers to recovery for those most affected. International evidence supports this. In [Portugal,](https://transformdrugs.org/blog/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight??ref=rebelnews.ghost.io) where drugs have been decriminalised for over two decades, the proportion of prisoners sentenced for drug offences has fallen dramatically, while rates of drug use remain below the EU average. Expanding harm reduction services—such as safe consumption spaces—would further save lives, reduce the spread of infectious diseases, and minimise the public harms associated with drug use.

However, these reforms, while necessary, do not address the root of the crisis. The psychological experiences associated with addiction—isolation, dissatisfaction, distrust, and disconnection from self and others—closely mirror the experience of alienation. Crucially, alienation is not simply a subjective feeling but a material condition, produced by the organisation of society itself.

For this reason, Ireland’s addiction crisis cannot be understood in individual terms alone. Explanations that focus on psychology, biology, or trauma obscure its deeper character as a social phenomenon, shaped by the inequality and exploitation of the working class in an alienated society. Addressing addiction therefore requires more than healthcare or criminal justice reform; it requires abolishing the social conditions that produce it.

Only a socialist society, won by workers and democratically run by them, can destroy the conditions of alienation perpetuating widespread mental distress. Recovery from addiction is consistently associated with connection, stability, purpose, and empowerment. These therapeutic outcomes are also social ones, emerging powerfully through collective struggle, as people come together to fight for control over their lives.

In this sense, the struggle against addiction is inseparable from the struggle against the system that produces it.