THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has said that it will be up to the courts to decide if so-called head shops are illegally selling equipment for the growing of cannabis. A spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that gardai were also monitoring the situation and added:

The operation of the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 is being kept under review. If problems arise with its operation, the Minister will bring forward such amendments as may be necessary.

The Psychoactive Substances Act of 2010 led to the closure of many head shops as it restricted the consumption, cultivation and advertisement of many substances and products that had previously been sold in these shops.

However, Conor Lally highlighted in today’s Irish Times that some head shops are selling equipment that could be used to grow cannabis plants. The article maintains that they can legally sell grow kits because the substance banned by the Psychoactive Substances Act is THC, which is only produced when the cannabis plant actually grows. As a result, the shops can sell the unsprouted seeds, lamps, irrigation equipment and other items to enable customers to propagate plants at home.

While selling equipment that can be used to grow cannabis is illegal, this equipment is being advertised as for sale to sell normal, legal, houseplants. The owner of Nirvana head shops in Ireland said that cannabis seeds were only being sold in his shops as “souvenirs”, and that growing equipment being sold in his shops was not intended to be used for the purpose of growing cannabis plants.

When asked by TheJournal.ie if it was investigating this alleged loophole in its 2010 legislation, the Department of Justice said:

Whether an offence has been committed in any particular case will be a matter for the courts to determine. The Garda Siochana are monitoring the situation and will investigate any alleged offences.

However, the department said that it believed that the Psychoactive Substances Act 2010 is “an innovative response to the sale of unregulated psychoactive substances for human consumption”.