‘Legally flawed’ cannabis bill still on legislative agenda

The Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill, proposed by People Before Profit TDs Gino Kenny and Richard Boyd Barrett, has been stalled since it went to committee stage.

Dr Michael Harty, chair of the Oireachtas health committee, said the committee has received legal advice that the bill as it stood would create legislative contradictions between other Acts.

Dr Harty said: “Resolving such contradictions by amendment of this Bill, or of other Acts, appears to the committee to be an onerous undertaking, quite apart from the further redrafting which would be necessary to avoid undesirable policy consequences.”

David Stanton, minister of state in the Department of Justice, added: “One must be very careful not to have unintended consequences at the end of the process that could result in much damage.”

However, Mr Kenny believes the bill is being sabotaged by the health committee for “politically motivated” reasons.