The Justice Minister denies the country is "sleepwalking" into legalising cannabis.
Proposals to ease the law around possession of drugs for personal use are due before the Cabinet in the coming weeks.
Under the plans, someone caught with a small amount of a drug such as cannabis would be referred to an addiction or counselling service.
Yesterday, a group of senior doctors warned about Ireland's relaxed attitudes towards cannabis.
The Cannabis Risk Alliance said the Government is “sleepwalking” towards legalising the drug for medicinal purposes without considering the harms associated with the drug.
However, Minister Charlie Flanagan says they have been considering the issue for a number of months.
"Over the past number of months, we have been engaged at cross-departmental level and I believe the report, when published, will be balanced," said Mr Flanagan.
"But I'm not going to preempt its findings until it goes before Government which I would expect to happen in the next three to four weeks."
