CAMPAIGNER Tom Curran will attend Castlebar meeting.
THE legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use will be the subject of a public meeting in Castlebar on Thursday night next, March 2. Organised by People Before Profit (PBP) Mayo, the meeting will discuss the reasons why a broader legislative framework for its proposed use should be implemented.
The meeting will be addressed by campaigner Tom Curran, whose late partner, Marie Fleming, used cannabis to ease her multiple sclerosis pain, and by Deputy Gino Kelly (PBP), who brought an unchallenged bill before the Dáil last November regarding the legalisation of medicinal cannabis.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Danny Coffey of PBP Mayo said that Minister for Health Simon Harris’s legislation only ‘allows medical cannabis prescriptions for epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy’.
“These are only a few of the ailments that cannabis can be used for and it, unfortunately, has left out a large group of people: those suffering with chronic pain. The exclusion of other conditions from the compassionate-access programme could equate to medical discrimination,” Mr Coffey said. “We need to broaden the debate around medical cannabis in Ireland and set up a cannabis research institute and a cannabis regulation authority.”
Earlier this month the Health, Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) published a report recommending the prescribing of medicinal cannabis for those suffering the specific above-mentioned conditions, but argued against its use for the treatment of chronic pain.
The report says that access to this form of treatment must be controlled, under the supervision of a physician and within a legislative framework under the aegis of a central registry. Responding positively to the recommendations, Minister Harris said he would establish an access programme.
Debate welcome
SPEAKING to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), Dr Jerry Cowley, a Mulranny-based GP and former TD, said he welcomed any debate about the proposed legislation.
“There will have to be strictures put on its use, as with any drug. If it is used properly, it is a blessing but if used inappropriately it can have very negative effects. We have to remember that cannabis has been used for leisure purposes and as a gateway drug. I believe Minister Harris is on the right track and welcome the fact that the subject will be teased out properly before the legislation is enacted,” Dr Cowley said.
When asked by The Mayo News if he had ever prescribed the drug or come across cases where it should be prescribed, he said: “In the broad range of my GP work, I have seen it being used for pain relief but it was not through a prescription.”
Meanwhile, Judge Mary Devins recently expressed concerns about the use of cannabis at Westport District Court, sitting in Castlebar. She made her comments after four young men appeared before the court on cannabis related charges. In the context of conflicting evidence about the drug’s impact, Judge Devins said she would like to set up a debate where one side would argue the benefits of the drug and the other would argue its dangers.
MORE People Before Profit Mayo will host a public meeting on the legalisation of cannabis in the Travellers Friend Hotel, Castlebar, on Thursday, March 2.
