Press Release 10th May 2010
Curran supports New Legislation on Head Shops
Government Chief Whip and previous Drugs Minister John Curran T.D. has said he supports the steps being taken by the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern TD on ‘head shops’ which will see new legislation introduced before the summer to ban the sale and distribution of mind-altering and hallucinatory drugs.
“The Minister is taking a clear stand on this issue and I very much welcome that. At the moment there is a head shop in Clondalkin and a delivery service of these dangerous substances is operational in Lucan. Parents from across my constituency have told me how worried they are about these shops and the dangers of the products being sold there and as Minister for Drugs I worked very closely with Minister Ahern in the planning of this new legislation that will ban these dangerous substances.”
“The legislation being drafted by the Department of Justice includes heavy fines and a prison sentence of up to five years. The Criminal Justice (Psychotropic Substances) Bill will give Gardaí the power to seek an order for closure from the District Court.”
“The Government is taking steps to expand the list of banned substances and this new legislation will further strengthen our capacity to protect people from these harmful substances.”
“As Minister for Drugs I had previously outlined a number of ways that I believe the issue of ‘head shops ‘ can be tackled and I outlined these plans with Minister Pat Carey, who now has responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy. We need to take a tough line on ‘head shops’ and I believe this new legislation demonstrates how serious the Government is treating the problem, concluded Minister Curran.