Harney seeks opinions on medicinal cannabis

RONAN McGREEVY

Fri, Sep 10, 2010

MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney has said she is open to making cannabis legal for medicinal purposes.

Ms Harney has sought legal advice on the effectiveness of the drug for the treatment of such conditions as multiple sclerosis and certain forms of cancer.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Children said it would make contact with relevant experts in the field with a view to making a recommendation to the Minister before the end of the year.

Ms Harney said in a parliamentary question last year that she did not propose a change in the law that would allow cannabis be used for medicinal purposes.

The department stressed there was “no question” of the Minister legalising cannabis itself.

Medicinal cannabis campaigner Gordon McArdle met with Minister for Community Affairs Pat Carey yesterday evening to discuss the issue.

Mr Carey has overall responsibility for the Government’s drugs strategy, but a spokeswoman for the Minister said he was meeting Mr McArdle because he was a constituent. Mr McArdle said he was “pleasantly surprised” at how open Ministers were to the idea of changing the law.

Mr McArdle maintains that the legalisation of medicinal cannabis would bring Ireland into line with the UK, Canada, Italy, Spain, Israel and 14 US states.

He said there ought to be a EU-wide approach to the problem, and a common strategy, and said he was not advocating the legalisation of cannabis in general, as that was a separate issue.

A Facebook page to have cannabis legalised as a medicinal drug has more than 4,000 supporters.

© 2010 The Irish Times

[grizzlybeard]

Great news Tonto. A step in the right direction alright.

Anybody know the outcome of the discussion?

there was a statement , ill find it later, you read the act yet?

Is that the one linked in the other thread?

Originally Posted by Cookie monster

Is that the one linked in the other thread?

yes, haven't had a thorough read myself yet

''The Minister and I have met and discussed my draft Bill. While the Minister for Health has power of a decision such as this, Minister Carey has offered further meetings with his staff to assist in the advancement of this proposal. The Health Minister has stated that while cannabis remains Schedule 1 here she is open to making changes to the Misuse of Drugs legislation to allow for the use of medical cannabis based drugs if expert advice indicates that a change is warranted. This is a positive step forward for the campaign and for patients across Ireland and the EU. We do not have a timeline in place yet to complete this process but are hopeful of positive progress being made shortly.''

[grizzlybeard]

''The Minister and I have met and discussed my draft Bill. While the Minister for Health has power of a decision such as this, Minister Carey has offered further meetings with his staff to assist in the advancement of this proposal. The Health Minister has stated that while cannabis remains Schedule 1 here she is open to making changes to the Misuse of Drugs legislation to allow for the use of medical cannabis based drugs if expert advice indicates that a change is warranted. This is a positive step forward for the campaign and for patients across Ireland and the EU. We do not have a timeline in place yet to complete this process but are hopeful of positive progress being made shortly.''

looks like its about Sativex and not medicinal cannabis. This could be for the medical companies.

[mikesp]

Hmmmm, I doubt the outcome will be what we're looking for

Originally Posted by mikesp

Hmmmm, I doubt the outcome will be what we're looking for

Probably not but it will be a little step forward.
I can see a time in the future where we may be able to apply for a licence to grow marijuana for the production of cannabis based drugs.

[grizzlybeard]

Wont happen if its sativex. The pharma companies have no intention of outsourcing the grows. Im not sure this is about sativex though.