Great news: Irish legislators are set to legalize cannabis for medicinal use

Falling to growing public demands to left ban on the cannabis use for medicinal purposes, Ireland is embarking on cannabis legalization.

Irish legislators approved a bill seeking legalization of cannabis for medicinal use after government decided not to oppose the move.

The bill would allow patients suffering from serious illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and chronic pain to use cannabis products to alleviate their symptoms.

If it is finalized it would empower doctors to decide the drug for their patients treatment, People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, a sponsor of the bill said. Ireland’s lower house approved the bill without voting.

This move by Irish legislators is seen as a part of world-wide trend to make marijuana legal for medical use. In UK, an underground industry is flourishing, according to independent. Defying a risk of years of prison, cannabis growers give away thousands of pounds worth of the drug to people who are suffering from different conditions.

In UK cannabis is a Class B drug, its possession is punishable five years in prison. While those caught delivering it can receive a 14-years sentence.

This legislation bill is now passed on to a committee where regulators will consider the scientific and clinical value of cannabis as a medicine.

Ireland’s health minister, Simon Harris, told changes would be made to the bill to avoid making drug legal for recreational purpose.