Illicit drug use in Ireland

[citation needed] The use by young people of psychedelic drugs, including LSD and cannabis, was recognized at that time.

In December 1968, the Minister for Health, Seán Flanagan, established a working party to investigate the extent of drug abuse at the time and to advise the government.

In 1973, the Coolmine therapeutic community was founded as a voluntary body to provide a structure for people to "maintain a drug-free existence".

[4] In 1979, there was a dramatic increase in the supply of heroin to Western Europe, usually attributed to the fall of the Shah in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The 1983 Bradshaw Report found that in north central Dublin, 10% of 15- to 24-year-olds had used heroin in the previous year; the figure was 12% for 15- to 19-year-olds, and 13% for females of the same age group.

Priests, politicians and even Provisional IRA members took part in residents' associations in areas of Dublin such as Fatima Mansions, the Hardwicke Street flats, St. Teresa's Gardens, and Dolphin House.

Groups met to name and shame drug dealers, giving them the choice either to stop dealing or leave the area.

According to Holland & McDonald, the drugs were hidden & packed under the floorboards of camper vans and driven across Europe towards western French ports.

[21] The legality of the shops was discussed in Seanad Éireann that month, with an all-party motion being passed requesting the Government to introduce legislation to regulate the sale of products.

[22] Politicians weighed in, with Chris Andrews in favour of outlawing head shops while Jim McDaid said this would be a "huge mistake" which would allow illegal street dealers to thrive.

[22] There was controversy and irony when a judge renowned for his strict anti-drug sentencing discovered that a premises he had rented to a business in Naas contained a head shop, and evicted the operator.

The county is home to then Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern and hours later plans for legislation for regulation of head shops got underway.

[34] On 28 March 2010, vigilante group Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) claimed responsibility for planting an explosive device outside a head shop in Letterkenny, County Donegal.

[35][36] Many head shop products became illegal in Ireland on 23 August 2010[37] when the new Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 became law.

[38] The Act empowered Gardaí to seek court orders to close head shops suspected of selling drug-like products, with the onus on the owners to prove they are not doing so.

On 10 March 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled in Bederev's favour, on the basis that the orders amounted to law-making, a power reserved for the Oireachtas.

[45] The political party People Before Profit (PBP) supports Ireland moving "towards the Portuguese Model to undermine criminal gangs".

[48] In 2020, as part of the government formation negotiations with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Green Party have called for sweeping reforms of Ireland's drug laws.

[49] In 2023, after ongoing lobbying by the Green Party and many others, the government officially announced that it would convene at Citizen's Assembly on Drug Use.