Blind man shops himself in bid to legalise medicinal cannabis

A blind man who turned himself in to gardaí as a cannabis user to call for legalisation of the drug for medical purposes has urged others to join his campaign by also turning themselves over to the law.

Mark Fitzsimons says he will use his time in court to highlight the dilemma for people who use cannabis to alleviate medical conditions but live in fear of getting a criminal record.

“I want to challenge the law, but people like me don’t have the money to take civil cases. They’re priced out of it. So using the criminal court is my way of getting a chance to speak out for the changes that should be made to the law.”