logo
Bacik: Policy of criminalising cannabis use 'has failed'

Bacik: Policy of criminalising cannabis use 'has failed'

Irish Examiner20-05-2025

Calls have been made for the decriminalisation of drugs as new figures reveal just 64 people have qualified for a medical cannabis programme.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has criticised the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP), saying the list of qualifying conditions is limiting uptake.
"I have heard from some of those who do qualify that the programme is too complex and costly to access," she said.
Ireland is among 70 countries that now have medicinal cannabis programmes in place.
Spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) was the most common condition cited by the doctors for treatment with medical cannabis, followed by pain in MS and epilepsy.
There have been 64 applications to date, all of which have been successful, under the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP) since it came into effect in November 2021.
Four people qualified for medical cannabis in the first year of the scheme, with 28 applications approved in 2022 and 21 people approved in 2023.
However, the number who qualified under the programme dropped to eight last year, while three people have so far been approved this year. Ms Bacik said:
If the MCAP approvals are so low, and dipping further, there must be an examination of whether the scheme is working at all.
Calling on the decriminalisation of the drug user through repealing Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, she said: "From my previous work as a criminal barrister, I have seen the harm done to individuals who have been brought in front of the criminal justice system for possession of drugs in personal amounts.
"Many of those individuals were self-medicating or were using the drug to manage or cope with a health condition.
"Clearly, the policy of criminalising the drug has failed. It has wreaked havoc on those who suffer with addiction and on their families.
"The very worst harms of a criminalisation policy are experienced by people and communities who are already disadvantaged and marginalised."
She said a new reformed approach must operate in the context of strategies to combat poverty and marginalisation too, as well as to ensure timely access to mental and physical healthcare.
Ms Bacik also called on the Government to act on the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on drugs more broadly.
Read More
No timeline set for Ava's Protocol on medicinal cannabis in hospitals

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Parents of boy with muscular dystrophy to hold rally at Dáil to campaign for vital drug
Parents of boy with muscular dystrophy to hold rally at Dáil to campaign for vital drug

Irish Examiner

time6 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Parents of boy with muscular dystrophy to hold rally at Dáil to campaign for vital drug

The mother of a child with a muscle-wasting disease is to hold a rally at the Dáil on Wednesday, urging the Government to support the introduction of a vital drug here that will help slow progression of the disease. Archie Ennis, aged 8, from Dublin, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy before Christmas — a condition that affects about 120 boys in Ireland. There is no cure for it. The schoolboy's parents, Una and Kenneth, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for specialist gene therapy in the US, which costs at least €3.2m. Meanwhile, the couple had also been campaigning for the Government to sanction pay for a new drug called givinostat, which has just been approved by the European Medicines Agency. Ms Ennis told the Irish Examiner: 'This drug will slow down Archie's muscle-wasting disease, but it also means it will help other children here. Archie Ennis: The rally outside the Dáil will take place at 1pm and Ms Ennis will be joined by family, friends and the other parents of boys with muscular dystrophy who are all supporting the call for the rollout of givinostat here. 'The drug was approved by the EMA recently, now the pharmaceutical companies can apply to the Government to see if they will refund the drug. 'But that will take time as they have to wait for the Government to decide if they will pay for this in order to make it free here. 'It makes sense for it to be made available free here, if the Government doesn't pay for the drug, they will be paying for other things such as more equipment for a child with the disease, they'll be paying for the care of that child, and carer's allowances — it all balances out,' Ms Ennis said. The rally outside the Dáil will take place at 1pm and Ms Ennis will be joined by family, friends and the other parents of boys with muscular dystrophy who are all supporting the call for the rollout of givinostat here. 'Time is muscle' she said. 'Archie's muscles are weak; he needs help going up the stairs and he gets tired when we are out on walks. This drug will slow down the progression of the disease, keep him on his feet for longer, keep his heart and lungs healthier longer and he will do better. She said the drug givinostat was something 'that the country needs,' but Archie will also need gene therapy — for which they are fundraising. The GoFundMe has so far raised €600,000 for Archie's treatment abroad, but it not even half of what he needs. 'We have been to Miami to get tests done but we really need the drug introduced here to start the process. 'We are hoping to follow Scotland, which is pushing to have the drug in pharmacies within five months. 'We have booked the AV room in Leinster House for 2:30pm on Wednesday and have invited all of the TDs, including the health minister to come along and hear our stories.'

Number of children living in consistent poverty rises to over 100,000, figures reveal
Number of children living in consistent poverty rises to over 100,000, figures reveal

Irish Independent

time14 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

Number of children living in consistent poverty rises to over 100,000, figures reveal

A Children's Rights Alliance report has acknowledged the number of children in consistent poverty has risen to more than 100,000 – nearly twice the previous mark – while the figure for homeless children has also increased, to nearly 5,000. The group has called on the Government to invest in solutions that address inter-generational poverty following the release of these figures from the Central Statistics Office and the Department of Housing. The Alliance is asking for measures such as resourcing early years support, cost-of-living relief, increasing budget allocation to Tusla and tackling overcrowding as a result of the housing crisis. 'What is deeply concerning is the number of children in consistent poverty – who are living in these conditions perpetually – which rose by a staggering 45,107 in 2024 to 102,977,' Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, said. 'Policy decisions and budget investments determine the fate of these children and young people.' The report analysed Government progress and action to address child poverty. The research report spans figures on homelessness, family support and alternative care, adequate income and early years and education. Last month's figures from the Department of Housing showed that an additional 100 children were living in emergency accommodation, an increase to 4,775. Ms Ward said: 'The rise in homeless figures is nothing new. 'We have seen a year-on-a-year increase every time we publish the Child Poverty Monitor. 'The combination of rising rents – the latest average reaching over €2,000 a month nationally – and a scarcity of supply has resulted in thousands of families being made homeless but also, countless more living on top of each other or in seriously cramped and inappropriate conditions.' Ms Ward said she acknowledged positive developments with the introduction of free school books, hot school meals and free GP care for children under eight. However, she called on the Government to focus on long-term investments. 'Universal measures have advanced, many quicker than expected such as the historic billion-euro investments in childcare,' she said. 'However, these have come at the expense of the targeted measures and strategic investment that are critical to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty our children are inheriting. Budget 2026 has to focus on breaking the cycle.'

Irish Examiner view: We need to eradicate TB for good
Irish Examiner view: We need to eradicate TB for good

Irish Examiner

time16 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Irish Examiner view: We need to eradicate TB for good

Tuberculosis in Ireland has had a tragic and unforgettable human cost, having taken as many as 10,000 lives a year in Dublin alone at one point, in between its epidemic years of 1880 to 1950. Poor housing, overcrowding, and starvation were the main reasons TB struck terror throughout the country, from the tenements of the capital city to the smallest rural communities. Up until the mid-1940s, when a vaccine capable of treating it finally emerged, it was a silent and deadly killer. While we eventually managed to contain the disease in humans, bovine TB later emerged and it has been claimed that the State has spent the equivalent of the cost of building the new National Children's Hospital — well over €2bn at the last count — to try to eradicate the disease. It has not worked yet — but it must. With efforts to stamp out bovine TB regarded as essential to securing Ireland's access to European and world markets for our beef products — and, by extension, also protecting farm incomes — the failure to eradicate it is as embarrassing as it is pressing. We know the recorded number of infected cattle hit a historic low in 2016 but has been rising steadily since. As well as animal health, the focus of the eradication plan is largely concerned with ensuring farmers have the requisite herd health status for access to export markets for both beef and milk. The Government has already acknowledged that disease levels are continuing to deteriorate and has admitted that compensation levels to farmers had reached €20m for the first four months of this year, the same outlay as was the case for the entirety of 2020. But the incidence rates are growing and not diminishing, despite tremendous efforts to try to quell the bovine TB tide. In the current programme for government, 2030 is set as the aspirational date for the final eradication of the disease from the national herd but, even working in collaboration with farmers and the agri-sector, that appears optimistic at this moment. As was pointed out to the Government recently by the chairman of Lakeland Dairies, Niall Matthews, this 'national scourge' shows no sign of abating. He said that some 3,200 farmers supply his company and every one of them faced a deteriorating scenario. He also asserted that Ireland appears to be 'further away' than ever from achieving the much-desired 'TB-free' status. With small rural communities and individual farmers across the country currently at their wits' end, the need to finally crack this problem has become imperative. Vatican warning on US populism As Donald Trump enthusiastically sent in the national guard to counter protests against his signature immigration policy, giving us some idea of his vision for a police state in America, a timely warning about the dangers of nationalist political movements came from the Vatican. In what was perhaps the first indication that Pope Leo XIV is intent on addressing the dangers of far-right populism during his papacy, the new pontiff criticised the 'exclusionary mindset' of many modern politicians, without directly pointing the finger at any individual. His timing — as Trump set his armed forces to work across Los Angeles — was pertinent and the fact he is American was perhaps not as coincidental as might be thought. But Pope Leo's request in Rome last Sunday that God 'open borders, break down walls, [and] dispel hatred' certainly hit the right chord in addressing populists. Before becoming Pope last month, Cardinal Robert Prevost was not shy about criticising Trump and shared several disapproving posts on X, admonishing the president and his running mate JD Vance. Back in January, he said Trump's plan to deport millions of migrants from the US was 'a disgrace' and he had previously said that Trump was not a Christian because of his view on immigration. 'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not a Christian,' he said of Trump in 2016. While Pope Leo did not directly address the situation in LA, where Trump is ignoring the wishes of Democratic governor Gavin Newsome with the undoubted hope of provoking havoc in the deeply Democratic state, expressing his thoughts on nationalist politics is undoubtedly opportune. Bad publicity If Israel was hoping its grievous behaviour in Gaza could be sandblasted off the world's front pages or global news websites, its hijacking of the pro-Palestine Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship could not have had a worse outcome. Israeli forces stopped the Gaza-bound aid vessel Madleen and detained those on-board, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, yesterday morning. In doing so, Amnesty International said, it flouted international law and gave the flotilla's inhabitants the publicity they had sought in the first place. Voyage organisers had hoped to further highlight Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza and its restriction of humanitarian aid into the region where 2m people are facing famine conditions. They certainly achieved that aim. Ironically, they may also have achieved their aim of getting humanitarian aid to the stricken Palestinian people, as the Israelis said that while those arrested on what it described as 'the selfie boat' would be sent to their home countries, the aid supplies aboard the Madleen would be delivered to Gaza. Israel might have lost this PR battle, but it is telling that such a realisation pressured the authorities there to publicly state that the aid would be forwarded to those who need it. Perhaps it's not too much to hope that Israel now commits to enabling all such aid to through to Gaza to feed its starving inhabitants. Read More Irish Examiner view: Listening is an important precursor to change

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store