Ireland: the Green Party calls for the legalization of medical cannabis

In their recommendation on National Drug Strategy (the equivalent of national drug policy), the Irish Green Party is calling for the decriminalization of cannabis consumption and the legalization of medical cannabis.

This is not the first time that Northern Ireland, or at least some of its representatives, have made such a proposal, notably with the presentation of a bill to Parliament to legalize medical cannabis in July this year.

Both initiatives are held by minority parties accounting for no more than 5% of the seats in Parliament. On the other hand, this doubles the demand that the’Scotland earlier this week for the adoption of a similar policy with a vote in favor of medical legalization. In the case of Scotland, it's the ruling party that's asking the UK to let it legislate on the matter.

Commenting on the Irish proposal, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: «There needs to be a consensus that the current situation in Ireland is no longer working, and that a new way forward is needed. National Drug Strategy presents an opportunity to change this. The Green Party supports the implementation of a regime of decriminalisation of cannabis consumption in Ireland, following on from the reforms undertaken by Portugal in 2001.»

«The Portuguese model reduces the burden on law enforcement and the criminal justice system, facilitates research into the health impacts of drugs, and reduces the potential profit for criminal organizations. The current system isn't working, so we'd like to see a new drug policy address these inherent shortcomings.

The Irish proposal doesn't stop at cannabis, and recommends a better harm reduction policy for drugs in general: the provision of low-risk drug consumption rooms for «hard drugs», the creation of drug testing services in places like nightclubs or festivals, or asking sports clubs to promote responsible alcohol consumption.

Full recommendations can be found here.