The EU drugs agency is in discussions with Uruguay about monitoring its landmark decision to legalise cannabis.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said it did not envisage governments here following the move by the South American country.
Agency director Wolfgang Gotz said he did not “exclude” the possibility that other countries might follow suit in the future.
Uruguay legalised the sale and use of cannabis last December — becoming the first country in the world to do so, in defiance of UN laws.
The US states of Washington and Colorado have also legalised the cannabis trade.
Publishing the agency’s 2014 annual report, Mr Gotz said that Uruguay had approached it to join a scientific committee to monitor the operation and effects of legalisation.
“I don’t know if we can do it, because of resources pressure and manpower,” Mr Gotz said.
He said he did not envisage any country in Europe adopting the Uruguay model any time soon.
“As far as governments here I cannot see any impact. In civil society they are discussing this issue more intensively,” he said.
Mr Gotz said it was “too early” to say what the impact of the legalisation move will be. He said he did not “exclude” it as a model that other countries might follow, “not so much in the near future, but in the future”.
Paul Griffiths, a scientific director at the drugs agency, said it was impossible to say how long the scientific community would need to judge the impact, pointing to the lengthy time it took to assess the full damage of smoking.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 28/05/14
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