Advocates suffering from chronic pain have launched the ‘What About Us’ campaign outside Leinster House, the seat of the Irish parliament in Dublin.

In Ireland, people with chronic pain are seeking legal access to medical cannabis, arguing that the current scheme is too restrictive.

Ireland’s medical marijuana program has only three qualifying conditions: plasticity associated with MS, nausea associated with chemotherapy and treatment-resistant epilepsy.

What About Us? Campaign

Advocates suffering from chronic pain have launched the ‘What About Us’ campaign outside Leinster House, the seat of the Irish parliament in Dublin.

According to the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland, some 45,000 people between the ages of 15 and 34 meet the criteria for marijuana dependence.

In 2021, fewer people in Ireland were charged or issued a summons for possessing drugs following the introduction of a new scheme that allows for cannabis possession to be treated with a warning, reported The Irish Times.

According to Garda Press Office’s figures, as of December 14, 2021, up to 5,957 people were either charged or issued a summons in connection to drug possession for personal use compared to 11,127 in 2020 and 9,923 in 2019. This means that the number of people charged was nearly halved.

The Government has started a consultation process to explore the possibilities for the development of an industrial fibre sector using hemp.

Advocates for the sector including Hemp Cooperative Ireland, whose members include farmers, engineers and scientists, argue that Irish-grown hemp has significant potential as a renewable agricultural cash crop suitable for industrial applications including building insulation, cloth making and even low-carbon cement production. 

While hemp can be produced here and was once widely grown for rope making, its closeness to cannabis means even industrial use is effectively banned under drugs legislation. 

A man in his 20s is facing charges after police in Ireland discovered more than €2 million ($2.9 million) of cannabis hidden in boxes of chili peppers, reports the Irish Examiner.According to RTÉ, officers responded to the report and searched a nearby storage facility in County Laois, an area that’s home to about 85,000 people.Police saw pallets containing boxes of vegetables that had been unloaded from a truck.Upon searching the boxes, they found approximately 121 kilograms of cannabis mixed in with the veggies.

The man in his 20s was arrested at the scene. He is due in court this week and the investigation remains ongoing.

According to reports, the bust was part of Operation Tara, an anti-drug operation from Ireland’s national police service.

A demonstration with the aim to decriminalise cannabis is set to take place in Cork in the coming weeks.

The protest will take place in Cork city on 7 August on Mardyke Walk and include live music and a raffle to raise money for the a Cork missing persons charity, with pro-cannabis activist Martin Condon telling The Irish Examiner he hopes it will "keep the pressure on Government to end prohibition".

It is expected that around 200 people will attend the protest, which would allow for ample social distancing.

Campaigner fought lengthy battle to obtain Bedrocan for sick daughter Ava

Vera Twomey has spoken of her joy at decision. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Campaigner Vera Twomey, who fought a lengthy battle to obtain medicinal cannabis for her sick daughter, Ava, has spoken of her joy after hearing the Bedrocan drug will now be funded up front.

Ms Twomey, of Aghabullogue, Co Cork had to find thousands of euro on a regular basis to pay for Dutch medical cannabis Bedrocan, which was excluded from the Medical Cannabis Access Cannabis programme (CAP).

Ms Twomey said about 60 per cent of existing medicinal cannabis patients are on Bedrocan under an individual license system.

Hemp has a bright future in Ireland, but government obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.

Sinn Féin is a republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, says hemp cultivation can help farmers supplement their income in a more environmentally way.

“Uses for hemp include building material for houses, paper, clothes, heating oil and as a plastic alternative,” he said. “There is also an increasing demand for CBD health products, extracted by various approved methods from Hemp, both in Ireland and internationally.”

ALMOST 40% OF Irish people believe cannabis should be legalised for recreational use and there is an overwhelming support for the medical use of cannabis. 

New polling by Red C on behalf of The Journal shines a light on the nation’s views on legalising cannabis, with only 4% of people opposed to the medical use of cannabis.  

At present, the use of four cannabis-based products is allowed in Ireland in strict circumstances and under a pilot scheme.

There is near uniformity across different age groups in believing that medical use should be legal, but opinions vary on whether recreational use of cannabis should be permitted. 

YES

Sending people through the criminal justice system for simple possession is a complete waste of resources for the State and the individual, says Gino Kenny, TD

Earlier this week, the Irish College of Psychiatrists issued a stark warning that “cannabis represents the gravest threat to the mental health of young people today”.

The college further noted that there were suggestions that the drug was considered “harmless” and that the number of hospital admissions of young people with a cannabis-related diagnosis increased by 300% between 2005 and 2017.

There is no doubt that the potency levels of cannabis are different from what they were 10 years ago.