Drug policy reform campaigner gave up time with family to campaign for election but has no regrets

Martin Condon, a 35-year-old Ballyvolane resident who ran as an Independent candidate in Cork North Central, says he has no regrets, despite the sacrifices he had to make to contest the general election.

“The biggest sacrifice I made to get this campaign going was giving up my time,” he says. “As a father of four, time is the most precious thing I have, and having to give any of that up to do this campaign just shows how important this is to me.

“The €500 deposit I took from the savings I had from my birthday and for Christmas but, as I say, the €500 deposit comes nowhere near to the value of the time I sacrificed to do this.”

He says he always knew his chances of being elected were “between slim and none”, but he says he was fine with that.

“My goal here was to stand up for myself and have my voice heard as best I can through the election as a candidate campaigning for drug policy reform and other issues too,” he says.

He adds that while he might be best known as a campaigner for drug policy reform, there were other issues he felt passionately about, including improvements to Camhs and Tusla, the abolition of the carers’ means test, the improvement of footpaths for people with disabilities, and the reduction of taxes on the hospitality sector.

He says he was “criminalised at the age of 18 for possession of €10 worth of soap-bar hash”, but adds that he was more than a single-issue candidate.

He had a team of 10 people distributing leaflets, while he canvassed closer to home, being unable to drive because he suffers from epilepsy.

“If I was to be elected, I would have given 100% to the job and done my absolute best to be the voice of the people of Cork North Central, just as I have for drug policy reform the last 18 years,” he says. “I was very well received on the doorsteps, with no one I spoke to opposing my position of decriminalising the drug user and taking control of the drugs market away from the criminal gangs through regulation.

“I had many great and enlightening conversations with other constituents about their experiences of poor representation by their local elected representatives and the lack of services.

“A couple of those conversations had me close to tears,” he says, adding that he would not rule out running again.