Home > Ireland: national report for 2022 – legal framework.

Health Research Board. Irish National Focal Point to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2023) Ireland: national report for 2022 – legal framework. Dublin: Health Research Board.

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The classification of drugs and precursors in Ireland is made in accordance with the three United Nations conventions of 1961, 1971, and 1988. Irish legislation defines the importation, manufacture, trade in and possession, other than by prescription, of most psychoactive substances as criminal offences. The principal criminal legislative framework is laid out in the MDAs 1977 and 1984, and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, 1988. The offences of drug possession (MDA, 1977 Section 3) and possession for the purpose of supply (MDA, 1977 Section 15) are the principal forms of criminal charge used in the prosecution of drug offences in Ireland. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations, 1988 lists under five schedules the various substances to which the laws apply.  

Alternatives to punishment are available in Ireland; for example, via Community Service Orders, probation services, and Drug Treatment Court programmes. 

Item Type
Report
Publication Type
Irish-related, Report
Drug Type
All substances
Intervention Type
Policy
Date
April 2023
Pages
60 p.
Publisher
Health Research Board
Corporate Creators
Health Research Board. Irish National Focal Point to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Place of Publication
Dublin
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Electronic Only)
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