The decriminalising of cannabis will not happen for the foreseeable future, Minister of State Noel Ahern said today.
The drug has been tried at least once by 18 per cent of the population, and it accounts for 58 per cent of all drug offences.
But at the publication of the progress report of the National Drugs Strategy, Mr Ahern said decriminalising cannabis would send out the wrong message.
"The message is that you're going soft on it and you're taking your foot off the pedal. We have no plans whatsoever in that regard." He said cannabis was a dangerous drug and added that it was nonsense to portray it as clean and safe.
A recent study which used research on New Zealand youths found that cannabis use can put a minority at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in later life. The British Government has announced a review of its decision to declassify cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug in the wake of the study.
Mr Ahern said he believed the British policy, which allows police to caution and fine rather than arrest for possessing small amounts of cannabis, was similar to the Government's. "They very much brought their rules into line with ours. Here, the gardaí always had more discretion in practice and under law."
Under the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act, the possession of cannabis for personal use is treated differently to other drugs, attracting a fine for first or second conviction rather than a jail sentence.
Several think tanks and publications, such as the Economist, have argued for the decriminalising of cannabis on the grounds that it would increase tax revenue for governments and hit the income of criminal gangs.
Mr Ahern said he did not believe it would eliminate all criminal involvement in the trade. "Although we have rules and regulations in relation to alcohol, there are still people making drink illegally, smuggling drink illegally, and selling drink to underage people. It doesn't mean that you get rid of all problems by legalising it."
However, he said he would have no problem with the use of cannabis products to relieve pain from medical conditions, as long as people did not see it as a first step to decriminalisation.
"It's a trillion miles apart to be using something for medical reasons under controlled, managed, supervised licensing conditions and to be in any way supportive of the illegal use of the drug."
However, his comments are likely to dismay the Cannabis Ireland Alliance, which lobbies for the decriminalising of cannabis. It runs an online message board for 600 members and maintains that cannabis is no more harmful than other legally available drugs.
PA