Updated 6.15pm 
 
 THE DÁIL IS to sit late tonight to pass emergency legislation in order to reclassify certain drugs, including ecstasy and magic mushrooms, as illegal following a court ruling this morning which has temporarily made them legal. 
 
 A ruling in the Court of Appeal on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 this morning effectively means that the possession of certain drugs, which had been illegal, is currently legal. 
 
 The court ruling found that the 1977 Act was being added to via ministerial order without recourse to the Oireachtas, in violation of article 15 of the Constitution. 
 
 Ministerial orders had been used nine times since the Act’s inception to outlaw the possession of drugs like ecstasy, ketamine, magic mushrooms, benzos and other drugs. 
 
 Speaking to reporters today, Health Minister Leo Varadkar explained: “It is still the case that the sale, supply, export or import of such substances remains illegal, even now today.” 
 
 The ruling could impact on a small number of current court cases that are being prosecuted under the 1977 Act. It will not impact on existing convictions under the Act. 
 
 The ruling means that TDs must pass emergency legislation tonight in order to make these drugs illegal again. The bill will then go to the Seanad tomorrow. 
 
 The new bill includes a provision that says it can only take effect on the day after it’s signed into law, meaning that the law will not come into force until 12am on Thursday. 
 
 It’s understood that party whips were informed of the potential need for emergency legislation last week but were told it was “highly confidential” until the court ruling was handed down. 
 
 The need for emergency legislation means that Sinn Fein’s private members’ bill, which calls for emigrants to be allowed vote in presidential elections, has been postponed to tomorrow evening between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. 
 
 It’s now understood that the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill will be taken in the Dáil by Health Minister between 8pm and 11pm tonight. 
 
 First published 12.08pm ||||| Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has confirmed the Government is to rush through emergency legislation to ban the possession of certain drugs. 
 
 Speaking to reporters at Leinster House on Tuesday, he confirmed the drugs included ecstasy, CAT, “magic mushrooms” and substances commonly known as head shop drugs. 
 
 “My objective as Minister for Health is to protect public health and that’s why we are going to bring this emergency legislation to ban possession of these substances,” Mr Varadkar said. 
 
 He stressed the sale, supply, import and export of the drugs remained illegal. 
 
 Possession is technically legal, albeit temporarily, until the emergency legislation is passed, although it remains illegal to purchase the substances. 
 
 Mr Varadkar said an appeal to the Supreme Court was under consideration by the Government, but a situation whereby nothing was done immediately could not be allowed. 
 
 Referring to the drugs, he said: “They all have very significant health risks that outweigh any perceived recreational benefits.” 
 
 The decision to rush through emergency legislation came after a court struck down the laws banning certain drugs. 
 
 In what the Court of Appeal said was a “constitutional issue of far-reaching importance”, the three-judge court unanimously said a regulation making the possession of methylethcathinone illegal was invalid. It is also known as 4-Mec or Snow Blow. 
 
 An explanatory memorandum issued by the Department of Health said that as a result of the judgment, “all substances controlled by means of Government Orders made under section 2(2) cease to be controlled with immediate effect, and their possession ceases to be an offence. These include ecstasy, benzodiazepines and new psychoactive substances, so-called ‘headshop drugs’. 
 
 It said the judgment had “no implications” for approximately 125 substances, including cannabis, heroin and cocaine. 
 
 Stanislav Bederev Judgment 
 
 Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015 
 
 In a statement, the Department said: “There is always a degree of uncertainty about the outcome of court cases. The outcome of this case does not affect existing laws regarding the supply, possession or sale of older drugs such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis. 
 
 “It does affect the possession of certain newer psychoactive substances which have been added to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 by successive governments. However, we are advised that sale and supply of psychoactive substances remains an offence under existing legislation. 
 
 “The State successfully defended the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 in the original High Court hearing in March 2014. The matter was appealed to the Court of Appeal and the Government made preparations for a possible negative outcome. 
 
 “This included the preparation of emergency legislation to be drafted in the event of a negative outcome for the State. It is now important from both a public health and criminal justice perspective that the legislation be enacted as soon as possible.” 
 
 Mr Varadkar will introduce the legislation in the Dáil later on Tuesday and the intention is that it will pass through all stages in the Dáil and Seanad within 24 hours, the statement added. 
 
 The court said earlier that Section 2(2) of the 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act, under which the regulation was brought in, was unconstitutional because it purports to vest in the Government law-making powers which are in the exclusive authority of the Oireachtas. 
 
 The case concerned a prosecution of a man for possession of methylethcathinone which was among a number of substances put on the controlled drugs list in 2010. 
 
 Stanislav Bederev, who is denying criminal charges of having the substance for supply in 2012, brought a High Court challenge seeking to stop his trial claiming the regulations were unconstitutional. 
 
 Lawyers for Lithuanian-born Mr Bederev argued it was not lawful to put this substance on the controlled drug list because there are no principles and policies guiding the introduction of such rules. 
 
 In particular, it was argued by his counsel Sunniva McDonagh, the decision to ban a particular drug was a matter to be considered by the Oireachtas before the relevant government minister could formally initiate the ban. 
 
 Not to do so was an “abdication of the role of the Oireachtas” and an impermissible delegation of unfettered power where there were no guiding principles for doing so, it was claimed. 
 
 Possession 
 
 Mr Bederev had possessed something legal one day and the next was facing a possible prison sentence for something now illegal, it was argued. His trial before Blanchardstown District Court was on hold pending the legal challenge. 
 
 The State opposed his application. 
 
 Last May, the High Court rejected his challenge saying Section 2.2 of the 1977 Act cannot be read in isolation and must be read in the overall context and purpose of the Act which is to protect individuals and society from the misuse of certain harmful substances. 
 
 The Oireachtas may not always be equipped or able to react with sufficient speed to deal with the emergence of new substances and misuse patterns, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said in his High Court decision. 
 
 On behalf of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said given what had been done in relation to this substance, it might also be asked whether it would be open to the Government to employ the same law to ban other types of drugs which are in everyday use and which are potentially harmful and liable to be misused such as alcohol and tobacco. 
 
 Given the breadth of Section 2(2) of the 1977 Act, the Government is “more or less at large in determining which substances or products should be declared controlled drugs”. 
 
 In the Bederev case, the judge said, the fundamental choice which remains with the Government, for the purposes of the 1977 Act, “is which dangerous or harmful drugs are liable to misuse such that they should be declared controlled drugs”. 
 
 The use of terms such as “misuse”, “dangerous” and “harmful” in the title of the 1977 Act “represent laudable and desirable objectives. 
 
 However, they do not in themselves constitute a sufficient restriction on the more or less unlimited power of regulation vested in the Government by Section 2(2) of the Act in relation to what substances should be declared controlled drugs, the judge said. 
 
 The conclusion that this section of the Act purports to vest in the Government what, in the absence of appropriate principles and policies in the legislation itself, “are in truth law-making policies is accordingly unavoidable”. ||||| The Minister for Health says dozens of people found guilty of drugs offences could now have their convictions overturned - and warned the supply, sale, import and export of ecstasy and other drugs remains illegal. 
 
 Leo Varadkar is to bring an emergency bill before the Dáil tonight to restore the ban on drugs like ecstasy and ketamine. 
 
 The ban on possession of over 100 drugs was overturned this morning when the Court of Appeal ruled the relevant law to be unconstitutional. 
 
 Leo Varadkar, however, said the sale, supply and import of the drugs is still illegal, and only a small number of convictions could now be appealed. 
 
 "I'm told it's dozens, but I can't say for certain because what they'll have to do now is go thought each individual case and see if the people ion question were charged just under this section of the act, or if they were charged with other acts as well." 
 
 Varadkar is to rush legislation through the Dáil and Seanad over the next few days to deal with possession of ecstasy, ketamine and benzodiazepines. 
 
 Emergency legislation will go through the Dáil tonight and the Seanad tomorrow and be sent to the President for signature to restore the ban by Thursday on possession of the drugs. 
 
 A statement released by the Department of Health, said there was "always a degree of uncertainty about the outcome of court cases." 
 
 "The outcome of this case does not affect existing laws regarding the supply, possession or sale of older drugs such as heroin, cocaine or cannabis. It does affect the possession of certain newer psychoactive substances." 
 
 “We had no way of knowing what the Court would decide today, but we prepared for this possibility. Legislation was prepared and approved in advance by Cabinet. The emergency legislation I am introducing today will re-instate the status quo ante and re-control all drugs that were controlled prior to this judgment,” Minister Varadkar said.
– A court ruling in Ireland has done a strange thing—legalized possession of certain psychoactive drugs such ecstasy, ketamine, and magic mushrooms. But the freedom is expected to last only about a day as lawmakers race to make the drugs illegal again, reports TheJournal.ie. The rush legislation became necessary after an appeals court today declared a 1977 drug law to be unconstitutional, though the ruling didn't affect older drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, reports the Irish Examiner. Lawmakers knew the decision was potentially looming and had legislation prepared in advance, but it will take about 24 hours to get it in place. "All substances controlled by means of Government Orders made under section 2(2) cease to be controlled with immediate effect, and their possession ceases to be an offense," says Ireland's Department of Health, as per the Irish Times. "These include ecstasy, benzodiazepines, and new psychoactive substances, so-called 'headshop drugs.'" While the loophole will be quickly fixed, the court's decision means that "dozens" of previous convictions have been called into question, says the nation's top health official. They'll have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.