Last Tuesday, a Court of Appeal declared Ireland’s 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act void after noting that new additions to the 1997 Act were made without consulting the Irish national parliament. This slip-up resulted in the temporary drug loophole, as voiding the Drug Act resulted in the legalization of ecstasy, ketamine, mushrooms, crystal meth (as well as over 100 other drugs) for 48 hours, until March 13th. The ensuing results of this loophole were far from surprising, as the Internet soon began buzzing with stories, photos and anecdotes from Ireland’s exceptionally spectacular 2-day party binge.The party people over at VICE were one of the many who decided to indulge themselves and hopped on the Irish party bandwagon, and graciously provided the world with what they encountered.
As VICE’s journalists recounted the scenario as they stepped into Ireland’s dreamlike, legally drug induced party scene, they told of people “falling over each other, beady-eyed, hugging the walls and each other” as they make little to no “attempt to conceal the keys and tiny plastic bags being passed around.” As expected, Ireland’s gigantic 48-hour “legislative fuck up” led to people feeling the pressure to “celebrate quickly, before it’s once again legally not OK to snort lines of MDMA off public benches”. VICE participated in one of the many “Loophole Pop Up Party” hosted in Ireland that night. While caught up in the drug loophole whirlwind, parties were observed spilling out onto the street, sleazy guys selling pills at the back of the club acting even sleazier, and Irish citizens, jaws clenched and teeth chattering, rejoices in the rarity to participate in their temporary “PLUR-filled, retrograde acid rave universe”.
Unfortunately, the fun is long over and the recovery process has just begun for the party people of Ireland. Due to the government’s fluke legal call, many young Irish citizens had the times of their lives as they seized this almost impossible chance to live in a temporary party paradise. While the rest of us sit back green with envy, we can’t help but acknowledge the true luck of our Irish party brethren.