Cannabis replanted in Cork days after gardaí removed plants
Cannabis rights campaigner Martin Condon replanted nine plants in Cork City centre just days after gardaí uprooted the six plants he had put there previously
Cannabis has been replanted in Cork City centre just days after gardaí uprooted the plants which had been left there in protest at the continued ban on the substance in Ireland.
Cannabis rights campaigner Martin Condon replanted nine cannabis plants by Shandon Bridge on Saturday, just days after gardaí uprooted the six plants he put there previously.
Mr Condon told the : “I’d like to highlight the waste of time by gardaí on these issues and I’d like them to refocus their efforts on the real criminals out there.
"Some people nearby got out their phones and started recording me on Saturday. They agreed with the actions. They thought it was a good way to highlight this absurd policy we have around cannabis."
Mr Condon said he will attend a protest in Dublin at 2pm on Saturday which is calling for the legalisation of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes.
"It’s the second time they’re running this protest. Last year, over 1,000 people attended throughout the day so hopefully, that'll double to over 2,000 this year," he said.
The protest, The Major Smoke Up 2021, will involve a march from the Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park, past the Criminal Courts of Justice, past the office of the Director for Public Prosecutions, and past Garda Headquarters before returning to the Wellington Monument, Mr Condon said.
A picnic in the park is then planned, where people will gather and openly consume cannabis, he said.
The continued ban on cannabis is having a detrimental impact on people who benefit from its medicinal use while it is failing to prevent young people from using it recreationally, he said.
“Here in Ireland, there’s still a lot of suffering caused by the prohibition of cannabis," Mr Condon said.
"Patients here in Ireland are still at the mercy of drug dealers who are not required to maintain a minimum standard of quality. The growing of the cannabis plant should not be a criminal matter and patients should have fair and effective access to cannabis as a medicine."
Gardaí removed the suspected cannabis plants from Shandon footbridge shortly before 6.30pm last Wednesday.
No arrested have been made but investigations are ongoing.
Mr Condon labelled the plants at Shandon Bridge, near the Bridewell Garda Station 'bring Alicia Home' and 'Call Vera' after two of Cork's most prominent medical cannabis rights campaigners, Alicia Maher and Vera Twomey.
Alicia Maher moved to Spain to access affordable medical cannabis which she found was the only medication that helped her following multiple surgeries. Once bedbound and in severe pain, she is now writing a PhD in law.
Vera Twomey has been campaigning for access to medical cannabis for her daughter Ava who suffers from a severe form of epilepsy.
Cannabis saved her daughter's life, Ms Twomey said, and is the only substance she has found which can control her daughter's seizures.
Despite the introduction of the Government's medical cannabis access programme, Bedrocan, the medication Ava and other epileptic children have been getting from the Netherlands for many years is not included on the list of sanctioned medications.
