Ireland’s Cannabis Decriminalisation bill moves through stage 1. What’s next?

TD Gino Kenny looking quite pleased after a delivering an important piece of legislation to the Irish Government

On Thursday 24th of November TD Gino Kenny entered a private members bill before the Irish government which seeks to amend the current 1977 misuse of drugs act to allow for possession of up to 7grams of Cannabis.

In his opening speech Gino describes the bill itself as being “quite moderate” in that it only seeks to decriminalise possession of up to 7grams of Cannabis. This will probably play out in the bills favour as it would mean that the bill doesn’t breach the UN’s 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (SCND). The current approach by the German government would breach the convention but the Germans could withdraw from the convention but this could take up to 2 years or they could just ignore the convention like other signatories have.

Countries such as Canada and Uruguay have already legalised and regulated Cannabis, in defiance of the 1961 SCND. To date these countries have not been sanction for their breach of this convention. With that being said lets hope the Germans chose the quicker option which is just to ignore the convention and drive on with rolling out legalisation.

Gino also stated that current legislation around cannabis “dates back 42 years ago. 42 years ago was a very long time and I believe the existing legislation is out of date and out of time. We need a different narrative in relation to drug reform because criminalizing people for small possession of any drug, particularly cannabis, is a complete waste of time, it's a waste of resources.”

“criminalizing people for small possession of any drug, particularly cannabis, is a complete waste of time, it's a waste of resources.”- TD Gino Kenny

Now that the private members bill has successfully moved through the first stage of the legislative process it has 4 more stages to go through in the Dáil and then it goes through all those stages again at the Seanad. Its expected that the second stage of the legislative process will begin in February 2023 or sometime afterwards. The citizens assembly on our current drug policy is expected to sit around the same time to discuss our health lead approach to drugs, its hoped the assembly will support the decriminalisation of the drug user (all drugs).

A recent poll from the Journal asked “Should the possession of Cannabis for personal use be decriminalised? It showed overwhelming support for the decriminalisation of Cannabis with 78% of voters supporting the move and only 18% opposing it.

If we want to see our political representatives reflect our current public opinion we will have to make sure over the coming months we email them, write them letters and stop them in public when we see them to discuss why they should support this bill to decriminalise small quantities of Cannabis for personal use.

If writing to your local rep be sure to include that you’re a registered voter in their constituency and include a return address for them to reply to. Tell them why you would like them to support this bill and back this use with facts where possible.

For example according to a Eurobarometer survey Ireland has one of the highest rates of cannabis usage in the EU, with nearly a third (27.9 per cent) of adults between 15 and 64 having tried Cannabis at least once in their lives. Meanwhile, 17 per cent of the adult population used the drug within the past 12 months – or around 550,000 people. This is more than double the European average of 7 per cent. (source)

Do not get disheartened if you get a negative reply from your local rep, address any concerns raised (if unsure as to how to address a particular concern you can contact me on telegram or via email martinsworldpodcast@gmail.com ).

A recent poll by the Journal found that 78% supported decriminalisation of Cannabis with only 18% opposing (source)

The process/stages a bill goes through before being signed into Law:

• First stage

The Bill is initiated. How this works differs depending on who is introducing the Bill:

• A Government Minister or the Leader of the Seanad can introduce a Bill and it automatically passes to the second stage

• Groups of 7 TDs or 5 Senators can introduce a Bill and it automatically passes to the second stage if certain criteria are met

• Any one TD or any three Senators can seek leave to introduce a Bill and whether it proceeds will be voted on by the House.

• Second stage

The Bill is put before the House (either the Dáil or the Seanad, depending on where the Bill was commenced) for a general debate on the principles of the Bill. Members of the House may make suggestions for amendments and additions. The House decides if the Bill should pass this stage and move on the Committee Stage.

• Third stage – Committee Stage

Next, each individual section of the Bill is debated. This is often carried out by an Oireachtas Committee in the Dáil. Members discuss proposed amendments with the relevant Minister. The Minister decides on whether to accept or reject an amendment. If an amendment is rejected by the Minister, a vote can then be called.

The Committee Stage can be lengthy because there is no limit on the number of times a member can speak on an amendment.

• Fourth stage – Report Stage

This is the last opportunity for amendments to the Bill. Members can only speak twice on each amendment, and their second speech is limited to two minutes. No new amendments can be added by members outside the Government – only amendments from Committee Stage are discussed.

The Government can add new amendments at the Report Stage, but only by returning the Bill to Committee Stage.

• Fifth Stage

This usually follows directly from the Report Stage. The House (either the Dáil or Seanad) where the Bill was commenced, votes on the Bill.

If the Bill is passed, it then moves to the next House (if it commenced in the Dáil, it now moves to the Seanad) where it goes through all 5 stages again. Amendments made in the second House can be rejected by the first House after a debate.

The Seanad has only 21 days to consider money bills. ( source )