As the UK begins to move ahead with medical marijuana, the Irish Health Minister says patients should also expect legalization in Ireland soon, writes Calvin Hughes. 

Minister for Health Simon Harris has suggested the possibility of farmers in Ireland growing cannabis in the future as part of his plan to push legalization of medicinal marijuana.

This week RTÉ's agricultural programme Ear to the Ground examined cannabis farms and the possibility of growing the crop in Ireland at some stage in the future if more liberal laws around cannabis are introduced.

Harris told the show that he would like to see medical marijuana grown in Ireland in the future and that he hopes to introduce legislation allowing for medicinal use of the plant as early as next year.

Bloom’s Café isn’t much like its Amsterdam counterparts, but it does serve a nice cup of cannabis-infused coffee.

Ireland may not have legal adult-use cannabis with the country’s Minister of Health only allowing medicinal use on a case-by-case basis.

But legal barriers haven’t prevented Blooms Cafe from becoming the first cafe in Ireland to sell cannabis flower and infused coffee. Located in Waterford City, Blooms sells cannabis and hemp botanicals that are rich in CBD but have negligible (i.e. legal) levels of THC.

Nearly three-quarters of Irish adults believe cannabis should be made available for medical purposes, writes Calvin Hughes.

Earlier this week, the Irish government published their most recent edition of 'Drug Use in Ireland and Northern Ireland,' which details the island's drug statistics. One of the report's key findings was that cannabis continues to be the most used illicit drug with over one quarter (26.4 percent) of Irish adults reporting they've consumed cannabis at least once in their lifetime.

A mother's campaign to get medical marijuana for her young daughter has come to a happy end.

Vera Twomey recently secured a medical marijuana license for her 8-year-old daughter Ava, who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. Now, Twomey has announced that her daughter has been taken off all of her previous medications and is being treated solely with medicinal cannabis, writes Calvin Hughes.

After Canada made huge news last week by officially legalizing marijuana, many are wondering what country will make cannabis headlines next. And the answer may be over in the Emerald Isle, writes Joseph Misulonas. 

The bill recommends the establishment of a Cannabis Regulatory Authority to regulate the sale of medicinal cannabis - but it looks like it's now been defeated

The Government has been accused of hijacking the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 and ignoring well-founded medical advice to prevent it from passing.

During the return of the Dail from its summer break today, Solidarity-PBP TD Richard Boyd-Barrett claimed the Government was using parliamentary procedures to block the bill's procedure to Committee Stage.

The bill, which was tabled by Solidarity-PBP TD Gino Kenny last year, recommends the establishment of a Cannabis Regulatory Authority to regulate the sale of medicinal cannabis.

A motion from Cllr Michael O'Brien calling on the local authority to write to the Government to seek the legalisation of medical cannabis received cautious support at a meeting of the Athlone Municipal District this week.

A similar motion which the Moate-based councillor introduced at a full meeting of the county council was voted down earlier this summer, but he had more success with it among the Athlone-area councillors.

Cllr O'Brien called for a letter to be sent to Health Minister Simon Harris "calling for urgent legislation to be put in place for the legalisation of medical cannabis oil, and that he takes swift action to ensure that all Irish seeking this treatment abroad are allowed to return home and legally continue with their treatment."

C + Swiss Hemp Iced Tea contains syrup made from the fibre of a hemp plant and Chillo contains cannabis extract.

DRINKS laced with cannabis extracts have gone on open sale in Ireland.

But their distinctive leaf logos have been slammed for ‘glamourising’ cannabis — especially among youngsters.

The Irish Sun purchased two drinks in a Dublin SPAR shop which both have the plants’ leaf as the main image on the product.

C + Swiss Hemp Iced Tea contains syrup made from the fibre of a cannabis plant and not illegal in Ireland.

And energy drink Chillo, contains cannabis seeds, also legal.

Report says proposals would have unintended consequences.

The Oireachtas Health committee has voted to reject People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny’s Bill to legalise medical cannabis and said the Bill “should not proceed to committee stage”. 

The report by the committee on the proposals says the Bill has major legal issues and the proposed framework to allow patients access cannabis for medical reasons is “too loose to effectively guard against leakage of supply to recreational users, [AND]overuse by patients”.