Cannabis is being adulterated with dangerous synthetics, Citizens’ Assembly hears
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Warnings that cannabis is increasingly being adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids, boosting potency and potentially leading to grave health impacts, were made at the first Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.
Eleven EU member states have detected adulterated samples of the drug since 2020, with both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, Dr Eoghan Quigley of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), said.
Cannabis remains Ireland’s and Europe’s most popular drug with an estimated 15.5% of people aged 15-34 (15m people) reporting using cannabis in the last year. The drug is responsible for some 80,000 people accessing drug treatment in Europe, Dr Quigley said.
Innovation in the drug market is now driving high availability and greater diversity of substances — including through synthetic drug production and new trafficking routes.
Drug supply and use began to bounce back after the pandemic disruption, with increasing residues of drugs including cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine found in wastewater analysis between 2020 and 2021.
And while darknet drug markets have seen signs of decline, generating €30,000 per day in 2021 rather than €1m per day in 2020, overall digitisation of the drug market may have increased, with dealing now common through messaging apps and social media.
Dr Quigley also raised concerns about a potential increase in the use of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, in Europe, as the continent is now a major producer of the drug and record amounts of methamphetamine have been seized on the main heroin trafficking routes towards Europe from Afghanistan, as production of the drug has increased there.
The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use held its first meetings this weekend, where 100 members were told that drug policy could include options from depenalisation, decriminalisation, to full legalisation.
The Assembly will make recommendations on Ireland’s drug policy later this year to the Oireachtas.
A significant increase in the number of women, particularly young women, taking cocaine was noted by the HSE’s national clinical lead for addiction services, Prof Eamon Keenan.
And the number of people presenting for cocaine treatment has tripled in the last six years, with 34% of those people in employment.
“From an Irish point of view, our rates of cocaine use are increasing across all age groups — 2.3 in 2019, up from 1.1%,” said Prof Keenan.
He also noted a steady increase in drug hospitalisations over recent years.
While the number of people using opioids was stabilising in Ireland, cocaine and cannabis presentation was increasing, he said.
A drug testing and monitoring programme piloted at Electric Picnic last year proved a useful intervention — warning festivalgoers of particularly potent MDMA in circulation — and this will be extended to three festivals this year, he said.
Crack cocaine was also identified as a growing problem in disadvantaged communities.
While Gardaí support the current health-led approach to drug policy, it has grave concerns around the potential implications of legalising drugs, Justin Kelly, assistant commissioner for organised and serious crime said.
Legalising drugs could lead to significant drug tourism, he warned. He also raised concerns about policing the border with the North if the two countries had very different drug policies.
Under current policy, gardaí had seized more than €336m worth of drugs since May 2015, as well as 147 firearms, and deprived criminal gangs €28.4m in cash, which could have been used to fund further criminality, he said.
Drug-driving detections almost doubled in Canada following legalisation in that jurisdiction, he warned.
Ben Ryan, head of policy for criminal justice at the Department of Justice, said that decriminalisation would effectively mean legalisation because of the structure of Ireland’s legal system.
But he said that policy was constantly evolving, and the Department of Justice would listen to all proposals.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use concluded its inaugural meeting at The Grand Hotel in Malahide on Sunday. Its next meeting is scheduled for May 13 and 14 in Dublin Castle.
Speaking at the close of today’s meeting, Assembly chairperson Paul Reid said that this weekend’s discussions demonstrated the breadth and complexity of the issues that the Assembly will consider over the next six months, but welcomed members’ understanding and determination to produce informed recommendations.
“We have now begun the most ambitious and far-reaching discussion on drugs use and national drugs policy that has ever taken place in Ireland," he said.
"This Assembly has the opportunity to be transformative. Clearly our members recognise this, and I want to thank them for their enthusiasm, engagement, and eagerness to learn."