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IN JULY 2016, Bríd Smith TD and Gino Kenny TD moved the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016.
It is appropriate that on the day of the Bill going into “detailed scrutiny” in the Oireachtas Health Committee that we set out the reasons why the Bill needs public support in order to pass the remaining two stages of the seemingly interminable Dáil process.
In short the People Before Profit Cannabis Bill will save lives and ease the suffering of tens of thousands.
An effective treatment for chronic pain
The Barnes report to the UK parliament last year confirmed what many people in Ireland already know, that cannabis is an effective treatment for those suffering chronic pain and illnesses like MS, intractable epilepsy and the symptoms of cancer or chemotherapy.
The Bill is the only way the majority of people who could benefit from cannabis can have legally protected access to quality controlled cannabis products.
The Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill provides for the regulation of cannabis for medicinal use and to do this proposes to establish a Cannabis Regulation Authority to regulate distribution by issuing licences under the Act.
It also provides for a Cannabis Research Institute to improve the level of public knowledge and to develop research on the medicinal use of cannabis.
A legally protected, secure supply
Under the Act patients will be able to access from a pharmacy, with a doctor’s recommendation, a legally protected, secure supply of a quality-controlled cannabis-based product, that is effective, and safer than many authorised products, especially for pain relief.
The current government policy in the “Programme for a Partnership Government” states that: “We will support a health-led approach rather than a criminal justice approach to drug use.”
However, the government-sponsored alternative to the Bill the “Compassionate Access Programme” is neither compassionate nor will it provide access for the vast majority of people who could benefit from cannabis-based treatments as it excludes people suffering chronic pain without a credible explanation.
The existing government programme has restricted access from all but a handful of patients. This is sadly well illustrated in the case of Vera Twomey and her daughter, Ava, who has Dravet’s syndrome, and suffered up to 300 seizures a day before Vera started using a cannabis extraction as a medicine for Ava.
Health Minister Simon Harris has refused to authorise access for Ava and continues to criminalise other child and adult patients using cannabis-based treatments.
HPRA guidance is unreliable and biased
The government claim they are supported by the Health Products Regulatory Authority report on the subject.
Unfortunately for them the HPRA guidance is unreliable and biased because it did not use any expert advisors with practical experience of cannabis for medicinal use and because the reasons given by the HPRA for restricting access are not applied consistently to other drugs, and do not take into account the serious risk of death and dependency caused by the existing authorised drugs such as opioids and benzodiazepines.
Existing prescription drugs are a growing concern as a cause of death and dependency, but the government and the HPRA are deliberately ignoring this concern.
No overall increase in recreational use has been associated with the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use in the US and youth cannabis use for recreational purposes is actually falling there.
The government has rejected, without explanation, the progress in other EU countries and the United States where the benefits of medicinal cannabis are being seen. These benefits include not only pain relief and a reduction in seizures, but a reduction in the use of more toxic drugs, and a reduction in deaths from overdoses which happen frequently with opioid painkillers and benzos but never with cannabis.
Cannabis will improve health of overall population
Increased numbers of patients using cannabis-based products instead of more toxic alternative authorised medicines will result in a net improvement in the health of the population as a whole.
The Minister has left potentially hundreds of thousands of people suffering from chronic pain out in the cold by excluding them from accessing cannabis for medicinal use.
In the US the introduction of medicinal cannabis has seen drug overdoses and deaths reduce and drug sales of more dangerous drugs fall. Some of these drug companies whose sales are affected are lobbying against medicinal cannabis and making financial contributions to political groups opposing legislation.
According to a report in the Guardian newspaper last October the makers of well-known opioid painkillers Vicodin and Oxycontin are prominent financial supporters of anti-cannabis lobbies.
We can trust doctors to advise their patients
Doctors and pharmacists should be trusted to advise their patients, as for other more toxic medicines, of the risks and benefits and to recommend caution with populations at risk such as with children. There is nothing in the Bill which prejudges professional judgement or which attempts to influence how doctors or pharmacists carry out their professional duties.
What has to happen now is for the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Bill to go to Committee stage in the Dáil without delay. The government position of claiming concern for safety while ignoring the dangers of existing treatments, excluding the majority of patients and obstructing the Bill with unnecessary delays requires a strong public protest.
It is time to put “People Before Profit” and to back the Cannabis Bill. As Vera Twomey said last week: “Nothing else will do”.
Gino Kenny is the proposer of the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 and People Before Profit TD for Dublin Mid-West. Dr Peadar O’Grady is the People Before Profit Health advisor and is a child psychiatrist.
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It will continue until intelligent border controls are put in place.
@Munster1: To do that we would need proactive clever leadership without influence from Ireland Inc. Not sure if you have got the right country?
@Munster1: it makes sense that everyone is quarnteeded but FFG are totally against it for some strange reason.
@Brian Madden: Larry handing out brown envelopes again.
@Munster1: can’t happen quick enough, another Limerick funeral, Newcastle West, up to 200 people at it, many travelled from UK. Guards know about these in advance and seem to do nothing to stop them, they issued fines ffs,
@Munster1: Thankfully there’s only one case here. With 10,000 arrivals through the airport there could have been a lot more by now. Mmmm.
@Paul Greham:
How one Covid-19 case at a meatplant led to over 150 cases and a school outbreak
@John McCann:
@Da Dell: Mmm not allowed to reply to ya John, interesting .. was wondering if they are on the spot fines ?
@Da Dell: ‘Mmmm’ was meant to indicate sarcasm.
@Paul Greham: Thats what I had thought man … who knows who they have checked compared to those who walked clean through, the priority seems more in checking if some Irish Pub recipient is going on holiday to Tenerife … although I have not heard of the Tenerife variant yet …
@Paul Greham: one case they are telling us about
@Munster1: Govt voted, last night, against mandatory quarantining
I wonder what all the lockdown fanatics will say in a few years when we’ve to pay billions of billions of euros back from all the unnecessary bailouts of businesses. Local pub getting 3k a week for subsidies wouldn’t of made the colour of it before covid. The mismanagement of funds during this lockdown is extraordinary. But not a surprise giving our country’s history.
@Cian: I’d prefer that than having to bury somebody close to me. You can pay things back but you can’t bring anybody back to life.
@Cian:€3k which has to pay rates bills insurance, €3k equates to about 500 pints over 7 days now don’t know where you learnt maths but doubt if any of these business are staying open on €428 a day before anything is paid in normal times insurance alone is bad enough but do you think brewery gives them drink free!! Electricity is free, rates and rents free!!
@Jamo: Lucky you, that no one close to you has ever died …. Pity I can’t say the same ….
@Cian: If all of Europe and plenty of the western world are in the same boat then I get the feeling they will write this off, if only to step up competition against China that escaped with its economy largely intact, if not its reputation.
@Jamo: I’ve buried someone close to me because of this virus very sad couldn’t say goodbye properly before they went however we’ve buried people before this and will do it long after this is life. Death shouldn’t cause a standstill of daily life.
@nelliekel: if your pub is closed, there is no bill to pay for the 500 pints. Lights/heating also minimal in a closed pub. Costs of running a closed pub considerably less than an open one
Its never going to go away when there is flights coming into the country. Sydney has being over 20 days of no locally transmitted cases but about 20 cases last week came into the country from returning travellers who were already in mandatory hotel isolation so it never got a chance to spread.
Forcing returning travellers into hotel quarantine is a big step but it works
Only one way it’s coming into the country…
@Cian: Migratory birds? Do enlighten us, please.
@Séamus Heffernan: It’s the Mars variant …. It came back on the rover…
@Martin Galvin: F*****g Martians. Why can’t we close Earth’s borders and take a Zero Covid strategy?
@Séamus Heffernan: Sarcasm not needed. This is a ridiculous situation where we an island nation can’t control our ports or airports from incoming variants, and a border where the government up North is being condescending and obstructive. We should have this under better control
@Séamus Heffernan: it’s the Chem trails Seamus or the fluoride in the water take your pick…
Serious moaners in this comment thread. One lad giving out to someone for being making a joke. “The situation is too serious for sarcasm”. Others basically pleading with the powers that be to lock them up.
“L
@Cian: There are probably loads of variants already in circulation in Ireland. I don’t understand why variants are only hitting the news now
@john doe: “Lock us up and throwaway the key, we don’t deserve our freedom”
Get a hold of yourselves people. Be sensible, protect yourselves and your loved ones and you will be fine.
@Séamus Heffernan: Apparently it was an Amazon delivery…
There are hundreds of variants and there have been since last year. They’re only speaking about it now to push their agenda of fear and keep us in lockdown for the next year.
@Lauren McKeown: I agree
@Marie Broomfield: LOL is right ..it certainly dose not impact them in their pockets anyways, plus they have got their pay rises too .. Its the Irish Taxpayer that will be paying for it not the Gov, as they did the gambling debts of the Banks..
@Marie Broomfield: Lesser of two evils compared to ambulances in hospital car parks and people dying in their care homes unattended. Gov can fudge the numbers and load a bit more on the national debt but it can’t fix the healthcare system overnight (or over 10 months).
First they said the death rate would be 3%. Then came kawasaki syndrome (that one didn’t really catch on), then ‘long covid’ and now it’s ‘variants’ (which is a good one because you can have an unlimited number of them). I’m not saying that these variants aren’t real, but they are clearly being used to keep the scare tactics going in order to maximise control. By the end of March, even by the government’s own projections, the majority of people who are vulnerable will have been vaccinated. It’s time to stop scaring people and start opening up. They could start by at least telling nursing home residents when they will get their freedom back, now that they have almost all been vaccinated. They were not even mentioned in the new ‘plan’. That should be bigger news than this latest variant.
@Jason Shortt: you do realise that the variants noted by scientists so far are faster spreading. Like any virus it’s mutating. It can evolve a version that is much harder to contain, one that is more deadly, one that will attack a younger person faster/harder. They are trying to limit the spread whilst they get people vaccinated. Globally. You are living through a piece of global history. It’s not fun, but it’s very real.
@Jason Shortt: long covid is a fact alot of people suffering months afterwards, i agree with u for the rest of wat u said , this will go on for years people need to get that into there head
Be grand lads .. bring it to our shores .. sure it’s a free for all anyway – no quarantine necessary .. just stay within 5k of where you’re staying though
@Wessss: are the government running a competition to guess how many strains we can bring in?
@Brian Madden: what do you suggest Brian
@Breedge: I suggest that they they quarantine all incoming flights bridge.
@Brian Madden: Totally agree
@Breedge: by the way its Breedge
@Breedge: oops apologies Breedge, bloody autocorrect
@Brian Madden: Would be great but since we don’t work with the North, they would just land in Belfast and travel South
@Vanessa: it’s the other way round the DUP and Arlene Foster and the unionists will not work with us down here
Get it. Right, every effort made to them has been rejected but that’s OK Michael Martin and FGFF are all best friends with them, you see it every day the Dáil sits as FGFF do not even give any republican a chance to bring up any questions without fffg. Talking about the IRA Who where only brought into the scene because fffg turned their backs on the nationalist people in the North
@Philip Kelly: It’s a bilateral issue. But however we still don’t work with them (and yes they also don’t work with us).
Doesn’t change anything that we would still have an open door in the North
You’d swear variants didn’t exist before the uk found one
@Mickety Dee: Ya but it’s fun to call it the UK varient
@a: UKVID
@Mickety Dee: every time there’s a sense of positivity they pull something out of the hat to keep the fear going.. people have copped onto the 3 day or 5 day trend BS, now they throw in a new variant.. haven’t even got a name for it..
US identified nearly 30 variants in circulation last week.. viruses mutate.. as they say in sport, you can only play what’s in front of you, get testing, isolate outbreaks and let the test of the people get on with living.
@Cian Martin: Brovid
I hope this new variant was found within 5km from the airport. Because if not the carrier of it is going to get a €100 fine from the Garda. And they wouldn’t want that on top of having covid-19.
@Odd Socks: lol
@Odd Socks: lol
It’s the ‘NPHET Variant’ I’m worried about…
This government always waits till the horse bolts before they close the gate.
@Kehoe21: But said closure of this ‘gate’ is not mandatory, for fear of legal reprisals, according to Tanaiste. We would prefer that the horse bolts but everyone stays 5km away from it.
There was too much positive news today anyway
And hotel and enforced quarantine are weeks away if ever.
Mandatory quarantine for EVERYONE coming into country except essential travel
@Michael Hanley: we’ve an army doing nothing for years. Get them to man it. Plus we’re not closing the border, they just have to quarantine for two weeks before heading any further south.
@Michael Hanley: I am not a fan of not trying just because of the leaky bucket. Even if we do it in Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports, that will surely reduce the risk – and slow the spread of variants. It does not need to be a perfect solution with a border on the north. Also if it works in the south the north/Arlene may just copy us.
Nice to see in the height of this pandemic people presenting to the emergency depts is down 14% on this time last year ….. covid seems have averted the trolley crisis the first time in the history of the HSE. The virus also has reduced the number of cancer & Cardiac deaths 30% year on year. Long may it stick around dare I say ……
Mandatory quarantine NOW
Suprise suprise our government who continues to blame and punish the public have let another varient into the country
@Alan Leamy: While also voting against mandatory quarantine in the Dail this afternoon. It’s like they’re trying to be the worst government ever. Job done.
Incompetent people running this Show
I have been saying for a while that we should continue lockdown till the end of 2021 and make sure everyone is vaccinated.Then we can have a new beginning in 2022..Its common sense.
@Marty Mc.: no
@Marty Mc.: I need my pints of Guinness now I tell you….. now ……….
@Marty Mc.: 1st step of easing of restrictions here in Zurich on Mar 1st . Im getting my vaccine tomorrow and my parents back home in Ireland still have no idea of when they will getting theirs.
@Marty Mc.: are you for real get rid of the 3 muppets and holohan and the virus will go away
@Marty Mc.: Embarrassing post of the highest caliber
@Da Dell: I wouldn’t be leaving any Americans in if I was ye. Sure wasn’t it obvious that the worst varient would come for a country of Muppets. The California strain resists our vaccines.
@Margaret Kane: that’s right Margaret. Sure didn’t they bring it in especially, thinking we were all enjoying ourselves too much. Ffs. Thick.
@Marty Mc.: You’ve also yet to explain how further demolishing people’s businesses and livelihoods is common sense. Or how businesses are supposed to go another 10 months closed and somehow be ready to go for 2022. The restrictions may be having absolutely no effect on you, but recent data suggests 60% of people are feeling their mental health very badly affected by this. There’s no common sense in this suggestion at all.
Nphet do not get to say when the country opens up.
And if Govt keep going this way it will lose people completely and it won’t matter what they say.
We have vaccines now. They work or they don’t. Life has to start going back to normal either way with mitigation’s once vulnerable are vaccinated. People will die of covid for the next 20 years.
Please take nphet off the tv. They should go to Govt buildings advise the Govt. Govt then make calls after social and economic advice also. We do not need nor is it good to see the single track minds narrative every night. They are an advisory board who are supposed to consider all health. They are focused on one area only meaning they have lost objectiveness.
This news is like Kinder Surprise
Sub Saharan variant. Who is travelling hehe from there and why?
@Pat Andrews: I posted a similar query and it was deleted. It appears that political correctness means you should refrain from asking that very relevant question —–Well according to the P.C. police!
@Pat Andrews: I read this post but with a Michael Jackson HEHE in the middle. Chamone.
Anyone know how to watch the NPHET press conferences? I would like to hear the details directly from the conference. Just can’t find the link.
@Sohoma Roanie: stick head in toilet bowl then flush …… pretty much the same thing
@Eoin Ó Cuinneagáin: you sir have won the internet today
And our airports are still open…
Political correctness and the fear of being branded as racists mean that we are compelled to let everybody and everything that they’re carrying into this daft little country
Has anyone actually every heard Glynn say ANYTHING positive? He’s unbelievable.
Those giant bubbles don’t seem like a bad idea after all……..
Won’t be long until we have the Irish strain and watch how quickly foreign travel will be banned then by other countries, I don’t think the word proactive exists in the Irish language, shambles
Open the schools
Why is this spanner and his cronies at nphet constantly making up new variants?
@MartyMc..I agree..you make a good point.
The key points from the meeting Nephet and Ff Fg and G are USE-LESS
I think this one might ask for your bank details to wire a substantial amount of itself over, as we’ve become the sole beneficiary of the kings inheritance.
I wish the gov. would for once just be honest and say why they don’t want to do border control. “We’re afraid of Michael O’Leary” “we have and always will prioritise tourists” .. whatever it is, I just want them to say it. Instead of heel dragging and having talks about having talks.
The Government are not listening to the Public. Both parties are now banned from getting my vote ever again. Close the ports and Airports and open the Country – Simples.
Open s pop up marijuana shop with the stashed drug. Billions to be made
Larry Goodman doesn’t have to worry about any of this. The ex Nama plutocrats can continue building their own palaces undisturbed by Gardaí. Only builders without connections get shut down. Rules for the little people.
What? You mean we can’t blame the Brits any more?!
have your say