Ireland’s Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has announced provision for the delivery and funding of the country’s Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme.

Ireland’s then-Minister for Health Simon Harris signed legislation to kick off a formal medical cannabis program in Ireland in July last year and it was expected the program would be up and running (funded) by the end of 2020. But better late than never.

Ireland’s Budget in October 2020 saw an extra €4 billion added to the Health Budget, and thanks to this extra funding the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme has been added to the HSE (Health Service Executive) Service Plan for 2021.

Funding has been made available for a new programme providing cannabis-based medical products to patients to begin later this year, the Department of Health has announced.

Use of products licensed under the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme can apply where conventional treatments are unsuccessful.

The types of conditions that might benefit from such an approach include spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, and severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy.

A temporary scheme enabling patients in Ireland easier access to their prescribed medical cannabis treatments has been made permanent.

In Ireland, specialist medical consultants can prescribe medical cannabis for patients with certain conditions assuming an appropriate application is submitted to the Department of Health and accepted. The country’s Medical Cannabis Access Programme kicked off in 2019 on a pilot basis for five years.

50-year-old Irish resident caught with €20k worth of weed.

An Irish resident is definitely in the soup after claiming that the €20,000 ($31,000) worth of weed he had in his vehicle was merely meant as an ingredient for the soup he planned to make.

(image: VMARGINEANU / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS)

In fact, after being caught with the substantial stash, Eddy Osagie, 50, initially claimed the weed wasn’t really weed at all, according to EchoLive. Osagie said the paste-like substance found inside a couple of cereal boxes was a completely different material than cannabis.

The explanation failed to convince Irish gardai, who had stopped the man and grew suspicious when they noticed a marijuana smell emanating from his car.

FARMERS IN Ireland are set to ask the government to legalise medical cannabis so they may become 'major players' in the cultivation of the plant.

The Irish Farmers Association are set to ask the government to consider legalising access to cannabis for medicinal reason, which would allow the plant to be grown by farmers in the Irish countryside.

The trade is growing quickly worldwide,and some countries, such as Canada and the United States, have legalised it for recreational use for those over the age of 18.

Two County Cavan farmers believe that growing hemp could help bring life back to rural Ireland. 

Kim Kindersley and Michael Ó Lionsaigh have been producing CBD oil from their hemp crops as global demand for the oil increases due to its perceived medical qualities. 

Both farmers believe that the cannabis plant, which is one of the oldest cultivated crops in Ireland, could help reinvigorate rural Ireland and Irish farming. 

Hemp was once extensively grown in Ireland to produce ropes, riggings and sails for ships at a time when sailing was the chief mode of transport. 

Now, the plant is used to make CBD oil, which consists of less than 0.3% THC. THC is a psychoactive that produces the highs associated with cannabis use. 

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says he stands by a 2017 interview in which he admitted to smoking cannabis and visiting a strip club.

The Fianna Fail TD told Hot Press magazine he had tried marijuana – and was open to the idea of making it legal.

Minister Donnelly, 44, also hinted at experimenting with other substances during a Q&A interview given after he left the Social Democrats before joining Fianna Fail.

When asked if he’d ever tried any other drugs Minister Donnelly replied: “I have many years ago. I have but that’s all the detail I’m going to go into.”

The coronavirus pandemic led to a decrease in the use of party drugs like MDMA and cocaine, but also to an increase in pot use, according to Global Drug Survey.

Forty thousand people from 12 countries participated in the online survey that looked at changes in alcohol and drug-related habits during the global health crisis. The 12 countries included in the study were Germany, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Brazil, and Switzerland. 

Based on the data, nearly a fifth of people reported that they used less cocaine during lockdown, while 29% said they used less MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy or molly. 

With the passing of a five-year medical marijuana pilot program, and increased industrial cultivation of hemp, Ireland is working to reclaim its title as the greenest country, but it’s definitely taking its time.

Cannabis has been around for quite some time, factoring into folklore, as well as being a part of medical traditions in pretty much every place it grows. The inception of Western medicine had a profound effect on the use of native traditions, and generally overlooked plant medicine. By a certain point, simply healing oneself with the plant became an actual felony charge.