Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I will bear in mind that danger. Section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 allows the Government to make an order declaring any substance or product to be a controlled drug for the purposes of that Act. By order of today, the Government has banned a list of substances including methadrone, methylone, synthetic cannabinoids, BZP and piperazine derivatives. All such substances are now controlled drugs for the purposes of the State's drugs legislation. Possession of a controlled drug is illegal and attracts criminal penalties. It can be prosecuted in either the District Court or the Circuit Court depending on the direction of the DPP as to the seriousness of the offence. The courts have power to impose either a fine or imprisonment for possession of a controlled drug and have other powers designed to assist drug users to overcome an addiction. Possession of a controlled drug for sale or supply attracts significant penalties. The 1977 Act provides that a court will look to the quantity of drugs possessed to determine whether it is for sale or supply. Where the value of the drug is more than €13,000, a sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed. These provisions potentially have significant implications for the operators of head shops. However, I cannot prejudice any actions the Garda or the DPP may take in the future.

In regard to the labelling directive, SI 64 of 2004, I understand from my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, who has responsibility in this area, that the regulations transpose into Irish law directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of member states in regard to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations. The regulations require persons placing a dangerous preparation on the market to classify and label it according to its inherent hazards. In the context of the current inter-agency and interdepartmental response to the question of regulating the activities of so-called head shops, the scope for using the provisions of this statutory instrument is being examined.

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