A TD has said it is 'time to move on' and legislate to decriminalise cannabis for personal use.
It is expected a People Before Profit bill will be deferred for nine months.
The Dáil debated the Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022 this morning, but the Government said it needs to assess last week's Citizens' Assembly report.
Opposition TDs have said it is a necessity to ensure a public health-led approach to drugs for personal use, and that it should not be an issue for the courts.
People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny told The Hard Shoulder the bill reflects the Citizens' Assembly recommendations.
"The bill that we debated this morning is a simple amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act," he said.
"So, somebody can have in their possession up to 7g of cannabis without criminal sanction.
"It's a very simple bill... and in our view that reflects the Citizens' Assembly recommendations in relation to one of the recommendations that they recommended.
"Also the Justice Committee furnished a report over a year ago in relation to drug use in Ireland, and they recommended decriminalisation.
"I think the tide is on our side in relation to this model of decriminalisation".
A cannabis joint at a pro-legalisation festival, 20-8-14. Image: Stuart Boulton/AlamyDeputy Kenny said while the bill is to be reviewed in nine months, more will happen in the interim."In the meantime [the Government] have said that they will set up a special Oireachtas Committee to look at the recommendations from the Citizens' Assembly," he said.
"We have debated this for the last number of decades in relation to what's best practice because the status quo doesn't work.
"The Citizens' Assembly was uneqivical about that, that the status quo of criminalising people for personal drug use in their possession doesn't work.
"So, it's time to move on and time to legislate in relation to that," he added.
'It is not lawful'
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Professor Bobby Smyth told the show the language here is important.
"This bill is not about decriminalisation, it doesn't mention the word decriminalisation," he said.
"It talks about it being 'lawful' for a person to have 7g of cannabis on them; that's legalisation.
"How anyone can call that 'decriminalisation' is beyond me.
"The country that most people know about decriminalisation is Portugal: drug use is prohibited in Portugal.
"It is not lawful to have drugs on your possession in Portugal.
"If you are caught using drugs in Portugal you will be stopped by the police and directed towards a dissuasion commission.
"What the Citizens' Assembly recommended was a model similar to that; which is that drug use should not be legalised, it should not become lawful, it should remain an offence.
"But where people are found to be using drugs they should directed for a health assessment," he added.
Deputy Kenny said their bill "is not a bill about legalisation of cannabis."
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