Well, that's a headline you certainly don't read every day. And, as you can see, this is a headline that will be good for one day only.
A ruling in Ireland's Court of Appeal on Tuesday has reportedly made the possession of drugs such as ecstasy, ketamine and magic mushrooms legal for one day only, The Journal reports. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 was found to be unconstitutional because the act was created without consulting the Irish Parliament, according to The Washington Post. What this all means is the drugs that were illegal to possess under the law are now temporarily legal.
The Irish government has called an emergency session for Tuesday night to fix the loophole and make the possession of these drugs illegal once again. However, when the measure is signed into law, it will only take effect the day after, which means "the law will not come into force until 12am on Thursday," according to The Journal.
Don't get too excited though. It's not like there's complete anarchy in Ireland. There are plenty of drug laws still in place.
"The outcome of this case does not affect existing laws regarding the supply, possession or sale of older drugs such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis," read a statement from the Irish government. "We are advised that sale and supply of psychoactive substances remains an offence under existing legislation."
Here is the full statement.
. @campaignforleo statement on the temporary legalisation of ecstasy (among other drugs) pic.twitter.com/tO84E7H8Xf
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) March 10, 2015
This ruling came about because of the prosecution of Stanislav Bederev, who in 2012 was arrested for possession of methylethcathinone, which was added to Ireland's controlled drugs list in 2010, according to Sky News. He argued that the way the government banned drugs was unconstitutional.
What's also interesting from a legal perspective is that this ruling could also overturn dozens of drug convictions, Minister of Health Leo Varadkar told the Irish Examiner. The government will now go through each case and see if the people who were convicted were charged under this section of the act or another.
Well, it sure sounds like the Irish government has a busy 24 hours ahead of itself. As for the rest of us, we're all probably thinking the same thing, right? It's just too bad this ruling didn't come a week later just in time for St. Patrick's Day.
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