Doctors say cannabis possession Bill is ‘anti-health’

Legislation to allow possession of cannabis for personal use, which is due to be debated by the Dáil this week, is “anti-health,” a group of doctors has warned.

The Bill proposed by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny will exacerbate the harms already caused by cannabis, according to the six doctors.

The group has written to ministers, party leaders, health spokespeople and members of the Joint Committee on Health urging them to oppose the Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022 tabled by Mr Kenny.

The Bill proposes that possession of up to 7 grams of cannabis or 2.5 grams of cannabis resin is made “lawful” for all adults.

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Mr Kenny has said his legislation will decriminalise possession of small amounts of the drugs, but the doctors claim it amounts to legalisation of cannabis.

“This Bill proposes legalisation, not decriminalisation,” their letter states. “Under decriminalisation, as used in countries such as Portugal, cannabis use and possession remain prohibited. Decriminalisation refers simply to a change in type of sanction, not the elimination of all sanctions and consequences.”

The Government has undertaken to set up an Oireachtas committee to implement the recommendations of the recent People’s Assembly on Drugs Use. It called for a health-led approach, including the decriminalisation of possession of all illicit drugs.

An estimated 45,000 people in Ireland, most of them young men, have a cannabis disorder, the doctors point out in their letter. Cannabis was the primary problem drug for 1,225 young people who accessed treatment in 2022, a higher number than for any other drug.

“All addictions, including cannabis addiction, affect more than the individual. They cause huge distress and upset for the family. Cannabis can also cause acute medical and mental health problems, with over three people admitted to a medical or psychiatric hospital every day in Ireland with a cannabis-related diagnosis.”

While reciting the concerns of doctors in the US, Australia and Ireland about the drug, the letter acknowledges public perception of cannabis dangers has declined over the past decade. “This coincides with the unrelenting attack on our drug laws by those who have wanted cannabis legalised.”

The letter is signed by psychiatrists Prof Bobby Smyth and Prof Matthew Sadlier, public health specialist Dr Ina Kelly, addiction specialists Dr Hugh Gallagher and Dr Íde Delargy and GP Prof Ray Walley.

The Bill will be debated on Wednesday.

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