Sorry, Ecstasy, Meth Are Illegal Again in Ireland

Well, that was short-lived. Only a day after accidentally legalizing some recreational drugs, Ireland has passed new legislation that clearly states the possession of drugs including ecstasy and crystal meth is illegal. Yesterday, an emergency law banning the substances made its way through the Irish legislature and was signed by President Michael D. Higgins. The law went into effect at midnight, Ireland's minister for health Leo Varadkar tells CNN, meaning the so-called "headshop drugs" were only legal for about 36 hours.

An appeals court inadvertently legalized the possession of numerous drugs when it struck down a section of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, which it deemed unconstitutional because ministers were able to add drugs to a banned list without parliament's approval. Varadkar previously said "dozens" of cases could be affected by the loophole, but tells the Irish Times, "I am advised that people who were charged in recent times in many cases were charged, not just under this section of legislation, but under other legislation as well." (More Ireland stories.)