The Irish government proposes to delay by nine months a vote to advance a bill legalizing marijuana possession, claiming that this issue needs to be examined by a special panel.
The taoiseach (Ireland’s equivalent to the prime minister) told lawmakers the government felt more time was needed to consider Ireland’s reform plan following the release last week of a citizens commission report that recommended decriminalizing all drugs as well as implementing harm reduction programmes.
Leo Varadkar addressed the Dail Eireann on Tuesday. He said that the decriminalization of drugs should be combined with other policies.
He said that no one committee should be responsible for the cannabis reform. Instead, it should include input from many panels, such as those focused on health, education and criminal justice. He spoke about decriminalizing drugs, but the government added a delay to , the cannabis-specific law that was scheduled for a vote on Wednesday to advance it to committee stage.
See for yourself
Leo Varadkar explains his plans in full video to delay the cannabis bill vote for 9 months.
Tomorrow, the debate will still take place.
No explanation was given. pic.twitter.com/0Eo9v6G1KU
Crainn (@r_crainn 30 January 2024
Varadkar stated that the special committee would have to determine what decriminalization means in a legal sense, and within an Irish context. Does that mean it’s not an offence at all?” Doesn’t that mean it’s an indictable crime? Does it mean that there is no penalty for the offense? Are there penalty points? Does it mean that up to a specific amount of each substance would be legal?
He said that the government would establish a special panel to consider the marijuana bill in the coming week.
Ryan McHale Crainn is a member of the executive committee for the Irish drug policy reform group Crainn. He told Marijuana Moment, “the delay tactic by the Irish Government regarding cannabis decriminalisation was disappointing, given the clear requests from the Citizens’ Assembly, and the overwhelming public support.”
He said that the government was aware of the overwhelming public support and therefore did not oppose the bill as they had done in 2013, when they last tried to liberalize the cannabis laws. “While it appears that the government is changing Ireland’s drugs laws, they are not yet committed to any substantive legal changes.”
He added that “this delay will result in hundreds of people being criminalized for possessing cannabis personally while the Irish Government ponders the political effectiveness reform.” “We can’t wait any longer and the Citizens’ Assembly has been very clear about their call for change in the current harmful status quo.”
The government’s delay proposal is “just a way to push the problem down the road,” said TD Paul Murphy.
The Government has said that they will delay by nine months our Bill decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.
This is a blatant attempt to put the problem off.
They speak about a drug policy that is based on health.
It’s time for you to start walking the talk.
Paul Murphy
January 30 2024
He said, “They talk about health-led approaches to drugs.” “Now, it’s time for us to follow through.”
Kenny’s cannabis Bill was introduced for the first time in 2022. It is currently in its second of 10 legislative stages, before it can be implemented. The government had hoped to allow the bill to advance on Wednesday. However, the timeline has been significantly extended.
Varadkar said to lawmakers last week he agreed that prohibition does not work. He cited the prohibition periods in Ireland, which created illicit markets for “impure alcohol” products.
The taoiseach stated, “In my opinion, drug abuse and use by individuals should be viewed primarily as a matter of public health and not criminal justice.” “I don’t think that criminalizing and blaming others is an effective policy.”
The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which was working on the issue last year, made a proposal to implement the reform, but it fell short by just one vote.
Missouri Lawmakers hold hearing on Therapeutic Psilocybin Bill
Image element by Ron Cogswell.
The post Ireland’s Government Proposes Nine-Months Delay on Marijuana Legalization Vote and Calls For Special Committee first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
