Meet the man famous for civil disobedience via public plantings and joints to parliament, Michael Condon of Ireland.

Longtime Cork County, Ireland, cannabis activist, husband and father of two, Michael Condon, has been leading campaigns to bring an end to cannabis prohibition. Condon has done so by actively engaging in civil disobedience and organizing public demonstrations for the past 12 years, which have been continuing in Ireland for the past 20 years.

He’s supporting many others who are fighting to use cannabis as medicine for severe ailments, such as Vera Twomey, and her now-12-year fight for cannabis to treat her daughter, Ava, who has severe epilepsy (see Higher Profile, A Mother’s Love).

Irish Revenue officials have once again intercepted packages containing cannabis from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Spain thanks to the Baileys, two drug-detecting dogs whose sole mission is to sniff out contraband.

In all, packages received at both the Dublin and Athlone mail centres contained 141,000 euros (just shy of $213,000) in illicit weed.

Two Canadian companies have been approved as the first suppliers to the recently launched medical cannabis program in Ireland.

The Irish Government signed off on the launch of its five-year pilot in June, and now Aurora and MGC Pharmaceuticals have been selected to provide its first cannabis medicine.

A Cork mother has travelled to the Netherlands to get medicinal cannabis for her sick daughter.

Vera Twomey's seven-year-old daughter Ava suffers from a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome which can be treated with medicinal cannabis oil.

Vera has been a vocal campaigner for the treatment to be made available in Ireland and has raised over €21,000 through a fundraising campaign for Ava.

"The reason we have arrived in Holland is because the Government, the HSE, the neurologists have demanded that we would go to another country to provide evidence that this treatment would work for our daughter," she said.

(but MDMA use is on the rise)

CANNABIS REMAINS THE most commonly used illegal drug among young adults in Ireland, according to the latest European drugs report.

The 2017 report by the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) measures the prevalence of drug use, addiction, treatment and deaths in European countries.

It draws on data from various surveys and reports published in recent years.

The report found that cannabis is the most prevalent drug used among young adults in the country, with 13.8% of 15-34-year-olds saying they have taken the drug in the last year.

This is by far the most commonly used drug among this age group.

The line-up for The Capital B this week is akin to a PG episode of narcos, it's got drugs, gold and computer hackers...

Speaking on JOE's business show Dr James Linden of Greenlight Medicines, said Ireland has the perfect climate to grow cannabis and he believes we have the potential to become the next cannabis growing capital of the world. Greenlight Medicines has so far raised €500k in funding from Irish investors  to research the potential effects of cannabis on diseases such as cancer, epilepsy and on chronic pain. Listen to the full interview with James Linden in the soundcloud link below, it's an eye-opener.

The legalisation of cannabis for medicinal purposes would prove much safer than patients sourcing illegal cannabis on the street to relieve chronic health conditions, a Limerick doctor has claimed.

Dr Ray O’Connor, of the graduate entry medical school in the University of Limerick, said he supported proposed legislation on the drug but called for strict regulations should it pass into law.

He said “it won’t be a case of walking into a pharmacy and getting six bags of cannabis and ‘Happy days’”.

“It will be given for specific purposes for specific patients, and will need to be strictly monitored to ensure that it is not abused,” he said.

‘It’s not quite the elixir of life, but it’s close,’ says seller of THC-free product.

The first health food store in Limerick to stock cannabis oil products says sales have “skyrocketed” in recent months following calls for psychoactive cannabis products to be legalised for medicinal purposes.

Cillin Cleere, the proprietor of Eats of Eden on Thomas Street in Limerick city, said their cannabis oil products were now among their 10 best-selling products since they began stocking a variety of products four months ago.

He said cannabis oil could be used for a “range of neurological and physical benefits” 

“The sales have been astronomical,” said Mr Cleere, who is also a biochemist and nutritional therapist.