General Practitioners in Ireland Support Cannabis Use, Not Decriminalization

Europe is beginning to embrace cannabis in a whole new way, but for some countries it’s going to take a lot of extra time and preparation to make medical cannabis more accessible. For Ireland, a new survey published in the Harm Reduction Journal on January 13 recently found that many Irish general practitioners support legalizing medical cannabis, but do not support decriminalization policies put forth by the Irish government.

General practitioners who are registered in the Irish College of General Practitioners database qualified to answer online survey questions.

The results show that 40 percent of male practitioners supported cannabis legalization, whereas only 14 percent of female practitioners also agreed. It also revealed that three out of five general practitioners believe that cannabis therapy definitely has a role in pain management, palliative care or Multiple Sclerosis. Also, 77.3 percent of surveyed individuals noted that cannabis use can have a “significant effect” on patients’ mental health, and can also reportedly believe it can increase the risk of schizophrenia.

Overall, the study provided fuel both for proponents of cannabis as well as opponents against the plant. Assistant Program Director Dr. Des Crowley, who works for the ICGP’s Substance Misuse program, believes that medical cannabis can have adverse effects in young people. However, he does also note that “ongoing research into the health and other effects of drug policy changes on cannabis use is required.” Crowley hopes that the study will be of use to policy makers who are discussion medical cannabis legalization in the near future.