MDMA-yhem: Ecstasy and ketamine are legal in Ireland until midnight

In a colossal oversight, bungling politicians have accidentally legalised the possession of ecstasy and ketamine until Thursday.

Possession of the drugs, along with crystal meth, magic mushrooms and hundreds of others, will carry no penalty because of a mishap in the law after the Irish Court of Appeal ruled the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 was void.

The cheapest flight to Dublin today is £44 from Exeter or Nottingham airports.

The blunder could also impact on a small number of court cases being prosecuted under the act.

The sale, export, import and supply of the drugs remains illegal.

The legal loophole will close by midnight once emergency legislation has been pushed through both upper and lower houses and signed off by the President.

Changes to the law were introduced without consulting the Irish Parliament, making the addition unconstitutional and leaving possession of the drugs in a legal quandary.

The owner of a legal high shop won his appeal when he argued a regulation making the possession of methylethcathinone, a drug sold legally until 2011, was invalid, making the whole act void.

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.”