While the recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 10 American states, on this side of the pond lighting up a joint is still very much a criminal activity – so how come there’s suddenly been an explosion of oils, serums, masks and moisturisers with cannabis on the ingredients list?

“Cannabis, which until not too long ago was taboo, has now started to emerge as a significant element in the medical and wellness sectors,” says Hugh Winters, CEO of Australian skincare company MGC Derma.

“Since your skin is your biggest organ, it can benefit your skin the most.”

LEGALISING cannabis for recreational use may be the next major debate on the liberal agenda in Ireland.

Privately, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been testing the waters within his close circle on how it might go down with voters.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reckons legalising cannabis could be the next major debate in Ireland

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny has been campaigning for legalising cannabis for a long time

There is fear of a backlash among the conservative support base of the party in the regions, but it could play well in Dublin, where the party is hoping to prevent the renaissance of Fianna Fail in the next election.

Fine Gael won huge political capital from championing the equal marriage and abortion referendums.

THE IRISH GOVERNMENT has finally found a supplier for medicinal cannabis. 

The Department of Health confirmed to TheJournal.ie that a licence for the importation of “specified cannabis containing products” has been granted. 

The licence was granted to a commercial enterprise in January 2019.

It is understood Health Minister Simon Harris will bring proposals about the cannabis access programme to Cabinet next month.

It’s over two years since the minister announced that a medicinal cannabis access programme was to be established, but since then no scheme has been rolled out. 

The delay has been blamed on the government running into problems finding a quality assured supplier of cannabis and a supplier that can export its products to Ireland. 

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.