Drug laws will not be changed, says Department of Justice

THE Department of Justice yesterday ruled out changes in drug laws following calls for the Government to follow Britain's example in making possession of cannabis a non-arrestable offence.

“The evidence from Britain would certainly suggest the Government should look at this issue again,” said Liam Herrick of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. “Police there felt an excessive amount of time was being spent on an issue that doesn’t have any obvious social harms and was hampering police ability to tackle more serious drug-related crime.”

Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party said: “Change in Britain should be a catalyst for an immediate opening of the issue here.”