Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Irish court accidentally legalises more than 100 drugs, government scrambles to close loophole
The Irish government is scrambling to close a legal loophole after the country's Court of Appeal accidentally legalised the possession of more than 100 drugs in a recent amendment to the nation's Misuse of Drugs Act.
The country's parliament sat late into the night on Tuesday to rush through emergency laws to close the loophole, which made the possession of ecstasy, ketamine, magic mushrooms and other drugs temporarily legal.
The situation arose after the Court of Appeal struck down part of Ireland's 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act after a legal challenge.
Health minister Leo Varadkar, who is a medical doctor, warned that the substances "all have very significant health risks that outweigh any perceived recreational benefits".
He said legislation had been prepared in advance of the court decision and that it would pass both houses of parliament within 24 hours.
"We had no way of knowing what the court would decide today (Tuesday), but we prepared for this possibility," Mr Varadkar said.
"The emergency legislation I am introducing today will re-instate the status quo ante and re-control all drugs that were controlled prior to this judgement."
Judges find methylethcathinone ban unconstitutional
The legal challenge was brought by a man prosecuted for possession of methylethcathinone, a substance once stocked by "head shops" that sell legal or herbal stimulants.
Methylethcathinone was added to the list of banned substances in 2011 after a government crackdown.
But the judges found the stimulant's addition to the list was unconstitutional, as parliament had not been consulted.
As a knock-on effect, more than 100 drugs restricted by that part of the law were no longer illegal to possess.
"It's not only these synthetic drugs that are available in these so-called head shops that were deemed illegal under this particular law," Ireland's Today FM political correspondent, Gaven Reilly, told ABC News Radio.
"This law has actually dated as far back as 1977, and its provisions had been used to declare a pretty big range of other drugs illegal in the intervening years as well.
"So the likes of ecstasy, crystal meth, ketamine and abuse of other prescription drugs... had all effectively been declared illegal under this particular law.
"Now that that law has been struck down, all those substances are — for the time being at least — now once again legal to possess."
The sale, supply, import and export of the drugs remains illegal, however.
In addition, "the supply, possession or sale of older drugs such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis" was not affected, according to the country's health department.
Mr Reilly said the government would be trying to return the law to the state that it was 24 hours before the court ruling came up.
"But it does have to be passed by both houses of our parliament and then signed off by the president as well," he said.
The country's parliament sat late into the night on Tuesday to rush through emergency laws to close the loophole, which made the possession of ecstasy, ketamine, magic mushrooms and other drugs temporarily legal.
The situation arose after the Court of Appeal struck down part of Ireland's 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act after a legal challenge.
Health minister Leo Varadkar, who is a medical doctor, warned that the substances "all have very significant health risks that outweigh any perceived recreational benefits".
He said legislation had been prepared in advance of the court decision and that it would pass both houses of parliament within 24 hours.
"We had no way of knowing what the court would decide today (Tuesday), but we prepared for this possibility," Mr Varadkar said.
"The emergency legislation I am introducing today will re-instate the status quo ante and re-control all drugs that were controlled prior to this judgement."
Judges find methylethcathinone ban unconstitutional
The legal challenge was brought by a man prosecuted for possession of methylethcathinone, a substance once stocked by "head shops" that sell legal or herbal stimulants.
Methylethcathinone was added to the list of banned substances in 2011 after a government crackdown.
But the judges found the stimulant's addition to the list was unconstitutional, as parliament had not been consulted.
As a knock-on effect, more than 100 drugs restricted by that part of the law were no longer illegal to possess.
"It's not only these synthetic drugs that are available in these so-called head shops that were deemed illegal under this particular law," Ireland's Today FM political correspondent, Gaven Reilly, told ABC News Radio.
"This law has actually dated as far back as 1977, and its provisions had been used to declare a pretty big range of other drugs illegal in the intervening years as well.
"So the likes of ecstasy, crystal meth, ketamine and abuse of other prescription drugs... had all effectively been declared illegal under this particular law.
"Now that that law has been struck down, all those substances are — for the time being at least — now once again legal to possess."
The sale, supply, import and export of the drugs remains illegal, however.
In addition, "the supply, possession or sale of older drugs such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis" was not affected, according to the country's health department.
Mr Reilly said the government would be trying to return the law to the state that it was 24 hours before the court ruling came up.
"But it does have to be passed by both houses of our parliament and then signed off by the president as well," he said.
source:http://www.abc.net.au
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