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Jail for ecstasy accused after Supreme Court ruling on legality of drugs
Summary
In 2015, Darren Snee, aged 28, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing 1,705 ecstasy tablets worth €17,050, along with €400 of cocaine and €800 of cannabis. He received a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended sentence for the drugs and a separate suspended sentence for the cocaine and cannabis. The High Court had earlier ruled that ecstasy was not properly defined in law, effectively legalising it, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling, reinstating the offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions had dropped the possession charge on the day of Snee's 2015 sentence. In December 2017, after the matter returned to court, Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Snee to two years' imprisonment, crediting him for 17 days already spent in custody. The sentence reflects the Supreme Court's decision that the drugs are illegal and the court's view that Snee's prior convictions and re‑offending warranted a custodial term.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Jail for ecstasy accused after Supreme Court ruling on legality of drugs. Charges or matters: possessing 1,705 of ecstasy tablets worth €17,050 at his home on January 18, 2013; possessing €400 of cocaine and €800 of cannabis on the same date and received a two and a half year suspended sentence in March 2015. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- January 18, 2013 Incident
- March 2015 Incident
- 2017-12-19 Publication
Why: A Dublin man who had a €17,000 MDMA possession charge against him dropped because of a legal issue with the drug's definition has been jailed for two years after the matter returned to court. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possessing 1,705 of ecstasy tablets worth €17,050 at his home on January 18, 2013; possessing €400 of cocaine and €800 of cannabis on the same date and received a two and a half year suspended sentence in March 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He asked the judge to consider imposing another lengthy suspended sentence. He jailed Snee for two years with credit given for 17 days he had already spent in custody on the matter.
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