Ireland Health Minister Signs Limited Medical Cannabis Law

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]reland’s Minister for Health has signed a bill that will allow medical cannabis to be provided to select medical cannabis patients.

According to the The Irish Post, Minister for Health Simon Harris signed the law on June 26 and will allow citizens medical cannabis access through a pilot program for the next five years. While the program was originally proposed two years ago, passage was delayed because there was concern about finding a reputable vendor for legal, medical cannabis outside of the country. Since then, Canada-based company Tilray became a prime candidate and is now legally importing its cannabis products to the U.K.

In speaking about the bill, Harris wanted to make it clear that legalization is not currently on the table. “It is important to state that there are no plans to legalise [sic] cannabis in this country,” said Harris. “The purpose of this program is to facilitate compassionate access to cannabis for medical reasons, where conventional treatment has failed. Ultimately, it will be the decision of the medical consultant, in consultation with their patient, to prescribe a particular treatment, including a cannabis-based treatment, for a patient under their care.”

As of now, access to the program is still very limited. Only patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis, nausea from chemotherapy and severe epilepsy can gain access medical cannabis medicine.

Prior to this news, there was no access in Ireland for those who needed medical cannabis, and the country was infamous for its lack of cannabis resources. The country is known for being conservative, and even issued scratch and sniff cannabis cards for police officers to ensure they knew what they were looking for when searching for drugs.

Still, despite the unfriendly climate, some cannabis advocates persevered. Tristan Forde is one of the children who is known for being the first patient in Ireland to legally access medical cannabis. This is a big step for Ireland, and one that may spell medical relief for many cannabis users in the country.