Ireland plans to decriminalise small amounts of heroin and cocaine

Medically supervised injection rooms will open as part of 'radical culture shift' in drugs policy

Cocaine prepared for street sale
(Image credit: EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/Getty Images)

The possession and consumption of small amounts of heroin, cocaine and cannabis will be decriminalised in Ireland next year, according to Aodhan O Riordain, the minister in charge of the National Drugs Strategy.

Supervised injecting rooms will also be set up as part of a "radical culture shift" in drugs policy, he said. However, it would still be a crime to sell or distribute these drugs.

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