Calls for minister to clarify cannabis issue

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell should clarify whether the decision by gardaí to drop cannabis possession from a new cautioning scheme was the result of ‘ministerial diktat’, the Labour Party’s justice spokesman Joe Costello said yesterday.

Mr Costello said he would be seeking a statement from the minister on the matter in the Dáil next week.

A decision to include the possession of cannabis for personal use in the new Garda Adult Cautioning Scheme, due to commence on February 1, was dramatically reversed on Tuesday following a meeting between Mr McDowell and Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy.