Drugs

Ireland should decriminalise the possession of all illicit drugs for personal use and adopt a health-led approach to the use and misuse of substances, an Oireachtas committee has recommended. The joint committee on drugs use, which was established to examine and response to the 36 recommendations of

The High Court has determined that the State’s prohibition on the importation and sale of CBD products containing trace amounts of THC is lawful in circumstances and does not offend the principle of the free movement of goods. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice Garrett Simons s

New research has highlighted obstacles to wider use of alternatives to coercive sanctions in Ireland for people found in possession of controlled drugs for personal use. The report, produced by the Centre for Justice Innovation, was commissioned and published by Strategic Implementation Group 5 (SIG

The future of drugs policy in Ireland is to be the focus of the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development's annual conference next month. The ACJRD conference on Wednesday 12 June aims to explore the rationale and implementation of government policy and the recent Citizens' Assembly

Mandatory roadside drug testing for drivers involved in serious collisions will come into effect from midnight on Friday. The minister of state for transport, Jack Chambers, has signed into law the commencement order for Part 4 of the Road Traffic Act 2024.

The US is set to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug in a move which is being heralded as a historic shift, but one which is unlikely to impact the criminal justice system. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has formally recommended that cannabis be moved from its current "Schedule I" clas

Germany has become the first major European country to legalise cannabis for personal recreational use. Under a new law which came into force yesterday, adults may possess up to 50 grams of cannabis and three plants at home and carry up to 25 grams of cannabis in public.

Lawmakers in Germany have voted to approve the partial legalisation of cannabis. The legislation advanced by the country's ruling coalition was backed by 407 parliamentarians. 226 voted against the bill and only four abstained.

A legislative provision criminalising the possession of drugs should be immediately repealed following the conclusion of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use, a group of Oireachtas members has said. Senator Lynn Ruane, TDs Neasa Hourigan and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and a number

A special Oireachtas committee will be established by April to consider the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. The assembly published its final report in January, setting out 36 recommendations for a new Irish model to reduce the harm caused by i

The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which met from April to October last year, has published its final report, with 36 recommendations for a new Irish model to reduce the harm caused by illicit drugs use. The report and recommendations were formally launched by Assembly chair Paul Reid, and G

The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use, which last year recommended the decriminalisation of possessing drugs for personal use, is to publish its final report this afternoon. The citizens' assembly, which began in April 2023, last October published a summary of its 36 recommendations producing a new Ir

Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) has reported a significant increase in the success rate of matching "unknown crime stains" from crime scenes to samples on the national DNA database. Currently, around 50 per cent of these stains now yield a match. Dr Geraldine O’Donnell, the head of DNA at FSI,

The number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland has almost trebled in the past decade, according to a new study from Queen’s University Belfast. The research, led by Professor Anne Campbell, reveals an increase from 61 deaths in 2011 to 175 in 2021, placing Northern Ireland second i

Possessing drugs for personal use should cease to be a criminal offence in Ireland, the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use has recommended. The sixth and final meeting of the Citizens' Assembly on Sunday voted on and agreed 36 recommendations that will produce a new Irish model of legislation, policy a