In Ireland, the new warning system means that fewer people are being charged with weed possession

By Nina Zdinjak

In 2021, fewer people in Ireland were charged or summoned for drug possession after a new system was put in place that allows cannabis possession to be treated with a warning, The Irish Times reported.

According to the Garda Press Office, up to 5,957 people were charged or summoned in connection with drug possession for personal use on December 14, 2021, compared to 11,127 in 2020 and 9,923 in 2019. This means the number of people has been charged almost halved.

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The expansion of the adult alert system, which includes Section 3 of the Drug Abuse Act (relating to possession of illicit drugs), only affected simple marijuana possession. The warning system is run by An Garda Síochána (the Irish Police) together with the Office of the Director of the Prosecutor’s Office and has been extended to the possession of cannabis for personal use, trespassing, trafficking without permission and laws regarding certain events, according to the Times .

These changes in the number of people charged with possession of marijuana stand “against an international trend towards legalization, but also against psychiatrists’ warnings about the drug’s harmful effects”.

As for Europe, Malta became the first country in the EU to legalize marijuana last year. Switzerland has launched a legal market study for cannabis for adults to investigate future regulation.

Ireland’s psychiatrists warn against potency

In 2021, the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland warned that the increasing potency of marijuana and the widespread belief that the plant was harmless were “devastating”.

According to the college, about 45,000 people between the ages of 15 and 34 qualify for marijuana addiction.

RELATED: Study Shows Marijuana Is 25% More Potent Now Than It Was Five decades ago

“As many as one in three young people who use cannabis weekly or more are likely to become addicted,” said Dr. Gerry McCarney, a child and youth psychiatrist, told the Irish Times.

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“Given how powerful the drug has become over the past few years, it is obvious that we are facing a perfect storm that has the potential to overflow our mental health services.”

The Garda figures for 2021 show that as of December 14th, only 60 reports related to the cultivation of cannabis or opium poppies had been collected – up from 178 in the previous year.

Fewer than 10 subpoenas were issued for this category of crime in 2021, compared to 132 in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.