Ireland Accidentally Legalizes Drugs Based On A Technicality
Ireland accidentally legalizes drugs, according to the Irish Times. Many dangerous drugs are now legal to possess in Ireland. Although this only lasts until 12 a.m. on Thursday, a lot of hype is surrounding this strange legal change by Ireland.
The Irish three judge Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act, which is similar to America’s Controlled Substances Act, was illegal on a technicality created by the constitution. The act was actually created without the authorization of the Irish Parliament. “An explanatory memorandum issued by the Department of Health,” according to the Irish Times, stated that “all substances controlled by means of Government Orders made under section 2(2) cease to be controlled with immediate effect, and their possession ceases to be an offence.” Such drugs included under this act were ecstasy, benzodiazepines, and many other new “headshop drugs” which have dangerous psychoactive effects on the users.
The actions of the Court of Appeals as Ireland accidentally legalizes drugs has not affected use and possession of major drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine, but more openly allows for rave drugs, which have proven to be extremely dangerous to youths. According to the Irish Minister for Health, Leo Varadkhar, this problem might also create troubles in trying to convict previous drug-related charges in other individuals prior to this whole mess. If the ruling invalidates these drug convictions that took place prior to the ruling out of the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act, Ireland could be in for even more stress. This entire situation has been compared to the film “The Purge,” where crime is made legal for one night per year in order to keep crime rates low. This situation does seem to be less entertaining as far as Hollywood is concerned, but nonetheless, this is the case that Ireland faces for a few days until they are able to sort out the legal process to fix this blunder.
This strange loophole desperately needed to be patched up, so the Irish government has been scrambling to create emergency legislation to protect the country and its citizens. The earliest legislation at this time could resolve the problem at 12 a.m. local time on Thursday. In the meantime, possession of these drugs is technically legal. Hopefully youngsters do not take this too literally and get themselves into trouble. Drugs like these are not something to be taken lightly, that is why Ireland has to make sure they are able to maintain order and fix this legal problem as soon as possible.