In 1977, just before the heroin epidemic began to take hold in Dublin, the Fine Gael government passed a law which made it a crime to consume opium, possess an opium pipe or even visit a place where opium is being taken.
The law was contained in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, Ireland’s first modern piece of drugs legislation. The Bill enjoyed cross-party support and its sponsor, Minister for health Brendan Corish, was proud of his work, telling the Daíl the Bill “will measure up to any legislation in any of the other European or American countries”.
The opium law is noteworthy because, though there are many laws forbidding the possession of drugs, it is the only one on the statute books forbidding the actual consumption of a substance. It is also noteworthy because 40 years on there hasn’t been a single prosecution.
The problem? Nobody really takes opium in Ireland. The government passed the law to address the growing heroin problem while failing to grasp that heroin was legally and chemically a different substance to opium.
It’s just one example of Ireland’s often ineffective legal response to drugs which critics say has resulted in a country with the fourth highest rate of overdose deaths in the EU and increasing numbers of young people taking illegal drugs.
Source: Conor Gallagher, The Irish Times, 23/09/17
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