Ireland Legalizes Hundreds of Drugs like Ecstasy and Ketamine
A wide variety of drugs including ecstasy and ketamine are temporarily legal in the country of Ireland.
The Journal reports that the drugs have become legal because of a court ruling against a 1977 law that serves as the basis for Ireland's criminalization of most narcotic substances. The Misuse of Drugs act was overturned by Ireland's Court of Appeal because the act was being amended by ministers without input from elected branches of government.
Some of the drugs that were outlawed by these amendments and are now legal include ecstasy, ketamine, and psychedelic mushrooms. The BBC reports that because the amendments were added for newer drugs that have gained popularity in recent years, including synthetic drugs, more than 100 previously illegal substances are now temporarily legal.
The Irish government must now pass a law that says those drugs are illegal, and the government has plans to do just as much. At the same time however, the law cannot go into effect until 24 hours after it has been passed, which means that these substances are technically legal in Ireland for a short time.
People currently serving jail sentences for these drugs will not be allowed to appeal their convictions on this basis, according to the Journal.
Ireland's Health Minister Leo Varadkar also made a point of saying that the change in the law will only temporarily legalize possession of the drugs. The selling, manufacturing, or distributing of such drugs will still be illegal, according to the Journal.
