Drugs

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

Five alternative approaches to drugs laws were presented to members of the citizens' assembly on drug use on the weekend, involving dissuasion, diversion, depenalisation, decriminalisation and legislation. The 100 members of the assembly met for a fourth time on the weekend in Malahide, Co Dublin. R

An Garda Síochána sent delegations to Switzerland and France to help develop its approach to policing Ireland's first medically supervised injection facility (MSIF) for drug users. Injection facilities, also called drug consumption rooms or safe injection sites, have been implemented a

Prison leavers with a history of drug abuse will be provided with access to Naloxone under a new initiative aimed at preventing opioid overdoses during their reintegration into society.

A District Court judge has objected to any attempt to legalise cannabis in Ireland. Judge Desmond Zaidan pointed out that some states, including the Netherlands, had actually tried to re-criminalise the drug.

Singapore has executed a man convicted of trafficking a kilogram of cannabis despite international pleas for clemency. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was hanged at Changi Prison at dawn on Wednesday, one day after the courts rejected a last-minute appeal, the BBC reports.

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a 12-year sentence in relation to cultivating cannabis was not excessive, given the scope and value of the operation, and the control exercised by the accused. However, the court did reduce a separate sentence which had been applied concur

Incremental reforms to drugs laws in Ireland have arguably resulted in "little or no practical change" and there is a "lack of political will to implement more radical solutions", according to a new report. The Working To Decriminalise People Who Use Drugs report describes how five different jurisdi

A citizens' assembly on drugs use is to be asked to consider how the harmful impacts of illicit drugs can be "significantly reduced", including through legislative change. The assembly, which will comprise 99 members of the general public and an independent chair, will begin its work in April and is

Ireland should decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal consumption as part of a shift towards a "health-led" approach to drug use and misuse, the Oireachtas justice committee has recommended. The justice committee published its report on drug laws this week after hearing evidence from a r

President Joe Biden has announced plans to pardon thousands of people with federal convictions for simple possession of cannabis in what is seen as a step towards the drug's decriminalisation in the United States. The pardons will not apply to people convicted under state laws, so will only affect a

The Oireachtas justice committee will this afternoon hear evidence on alternatives to criminal sanctions for the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use. The meeting in Committee Room 1 at 3pm will hear submissions from Dr Garrett McGovern of the Priority Medical Clinic, the Ca