Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphotoThe US has become the single biggest supplier of cannabis to the Irish drug market after a rapid increase in transatlantic smuggling, new figures show. Irish organised crime gangs have forged strong relationships with cannabis suppliers in the US as well as Canada and Thailand. American suppliers last year accounted for almost half of the cannabis seized at the point of entry into the State. Long read: Ireland’s booming cannabis market and its global links Read the full story by Conor Lally here. In 2019, the total value of cannabis seized in the Republic after arriving from the US was €1.1 million.

Source: The Irish Times January 17, 2026 09:39 UTC