Europe:
Ireland
to
Start
"Cautioning"
Marijuana
Users
--
No,
Wait
a
Minute,
We
Changed
Our
Mind
1/27/06
The Irish Times reported Tuesday that Irish police -- the Garda Siochana -- are set to begin issuing "cautions" or warnings for marijuana smokers and small-time possessors instead of arresting them beginning next month. The move would make the Irish approach to petty marijuana offenses similar to the British one, where police in most cases issue only warnings. The British system was upheld last week when Home Secretary Charles Clarke declined to reclassify marijuana as a more serious drug. But that same day, Justice Minister Michael McDowell did a u-turn, reversing the policy change and revising a January 15 directive on a new Adult Cautioning Scheme so that marijuana is no longer included, only public order offenses. When the policy change went public on Monday, McDowell claimed he knew nothing of it, but police sources told the Times Department of Justice officials were aware of the plan. With McDowell and Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy taking turns ducking responsibility for the flip-flop, ultimately responsibility is difficult to determine. A spokeswoman for McDowell told the Times, “There was no pressure from the minister in relation to this. The minister didn't raise it and the gardaí didn't suggest it," she said. "The minister outlined at the meeting where he came from in relation to drugs and he firmly believed an automatic caution in cases of first-time offenders would not sit easily with him." According to the Times, Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton had advised the Garda that it need not arrest minor marijuana offenders. Under the scheme, which has not been officially unveiled and has now been reversed, warnings would be issued for a first offense, but subsequent offenses would probably -- but not necessarily -- result in arrest and prosecution. The program would be for offenders 18 or older, and they would have had to accept guilt on the spot. The warning would have gone on the offender's record, but would not be a criminal conviction. The latest figures from the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Abuse suggest that Irish marijuana use patterns fit within the high end of the European norm, with 17.4% of adults reporting life-time use and 40% of teens reporting the same. There were some 3700 marijuana arrests in 2003, 58% of all drug arrests. Marijuana would not have been "decriminalized" under the warnings scheme and possession would remain a criminal offense. While no set amount of weed has been named, the warnings will be in effect for "personal use" amounts. While some anti-drug groups criticized the warnings scheme as "a dangerous move," it had appeared to have won the tentative support of Justice Minister McDowell, who told reporters after a meeting with Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy Tuesday that "it may make sense" for the Garda not to spend its time arresting pot smokers.
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