Ecstasy, magic mushrooms, and other psychoactive drugs are currently legal to posses in Ireland following a court ruling that struck down a ban on certain substances, according to The Irish Times. Legislators are now rushing to reinstate the ban, holding an emergency session with the aim of having a new law passed within 24 hours. “My objective as minister for health is to protect public health, and that’s why we are going to bring this emergency legislation to ban possession of these substances,” says Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s health minister, according to the Times. Sale, supply, import, and export of these drugs is reportedly still illegal. The ruling also does not effect drugs such as pot, cocaine, and heroin.
Ecstasy, magic mushrooms, and other psychoactive drugs are temporarily legal in Ireland
Emergency legislative session aims to reinstate ban
Emergency legislative session aims to reinstate ban
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is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
The Irish government appears to have found itself in this situation because its original ban on these psychoactive drugs came through a law that granted powers to an administrative portion of the government when those powers should have been reserved for the legislature. A court has now found the law to be unconstitutional. The government was preparing for this outcome, however. Legislators apparently prepared new legislation ahead of time in case it became necessary, and that’s what’s now being introduced in the emergency session. When it passes, Varadkar says, drug laws will return to what had been the status quo.
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