CALL FOR DAIL DEBATE ON LEGALISATION OF CANNABIS

Calls to legalise cannabis for medical use escalated yesterday
following a new study which says chemicals found in marijuana can
destroy deadly brain tumours.

Labour TD Emmet Stagg said the report threw further light on the
medicinal properties of the banned substance and called for debate on
the legalisation of cannabis.

Scientists have found that the plant has anti cancer properties and
could be used to halt the growth of potentially lethal cancerous
growths in the brain.

The Labour deputy said it was wrong that use of cannabis was a
criminal offence and proposed that its use be regulated by the Government.

“Following a report into substance abuse in the Eastern Health Board,
which found that many young people are using it as their drug of
choice, it shows there is a great need for public debate on the
matter. The Minister for Health should initiate this by discussing the
issue in the Dail,” Mr Stagg said.

The call for a debate on the issue also has the backing of Green Party
TD, John Gormley, and Socialist Party TD, Joe Higgins.

However, Junior Minister, Eoin Ryan, who has special responsibility
for drugs, has indicated that he will not debate the matter.

The study, published yesterday in the medical journal, Nature
Medicine, showed that, of almost 50 rats with tumours, only the 18 who
were treated with the main active ingredients found in cannabis survived.

Dr Manuel Guzman, who led the research team from Complutense
University in Madrid, said the discovery could have important
implications for tumour research.

“These results may provide the basis for a new therapeutic approach
for the treatment of malignant gliomas,” the report said.

Researchers believe that the cannabis ingredients trigger the build up
of a chemical messenger, which in turn leads to programmed cell death
in cancerous brain cells.

Several medical organisations support the use of cannabis in drugs
research, but are against the legalisation of cannabis for medicine.
They say cannabis plants contain more than 400 active ingredients,
many of which have unpredictable side affects.