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.

Icelandic post-rock group Sigur Rós have unveiled plans for a new range of cannabis edibles.

The group have buddied up with cannabis brand Lord Jones for the project, launching their own own THC edibles.

The limited edition 'Wild Sigurberry' gumdrops use a mixture of Icelandic flavours, inspired by foraged berries.

The range will come in five levels of potency, and will available from outlets in California - they can be ordered HERE.

Lord Jones founder Robert Rosenheck said: "For us, it really is a dream come true to collaborate with Sigur Rós. Their music has been more than an inspiration to us over the years".

‘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.

Four of the top five candidates at the Elysée want an evolution of the law. Until now, only the "small parties" proposed the contravention or the legalization. The actors on the ground are divided.

MMJ's Australian distribution partner has received import licence.

MMJ PhytoTech’s (ASX:MMJ) Australian distribution partner, HL Pharma, has received approval for a medicinal cannabis importation licence from the Department of Health, Australia.

This is an important development for MMJ as it enables the direct supply to Australian pharmacies through its strategic partnership with Melbourne-based HL Pharma.

Deryn Blackwell was diagnosed with Leukaemia and Langerhans cell sarcoma when he was just ten years old in 2010.

A 13-year-old boy who was one in only five people in the world with an extremely rare cancer that meant he had only two weeks left to live managed to make a miracle recovery – thanks to cannabis. 

Deryn Blackwell was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was just ten years old in 2010.

People are giving their pets cannabis to cure their illnesses

Just over a year later he was told he had a secondary cancer – Langerhans cell sarcoma -, which only five people in the world currently have.

Entrepreneurs have high hopes for cannabis in Switzerland, where business has suddenly taken off in recent months, six years after the country legalised low-potency "marijuana-light".

Switzerland changed its laws in 2011 to let adults buy and use cannabis with up to 1 percent THC, the chemical compound that produces a high. But its money-making potential seems only to have been discovered late last year, officials said.

"It started gradually last year, and then suddenly things went crazy in December 2016 and in 2017," said a spokesman for Switzerland's Customs Agency in Berne, which taxes the trade.

The number of retailers registered to sell low-THC cannabis has risen to 140 from just a handful last year, the agency says.

Cronos Group Inc (CVE: MJN) (OTC: PRMCF) is one of the largest licensed cannabis producers in Canada, only trailing a few industry behemoths like CANOPY GROWTH CORP COM NPV (OTC: TWMJF), APHRIA INC COM NPV (OTC: APHQF) and AURORA CANNABIS IN COM NPV (OTCL ACBFF).

It has become a highly-charged emotional issue, debated in the Dáil and played out on social media with prominent campaigns attracting national headlines.

There is a growing clamour for greater access to medicinal cannabis for patients with debilitating conditions, and in particular children suffering from certain types of epilepsy.

Health Minister Simon Harris has come under intense pressure to make certain cannabis treatments more widely available.

Last November, the Dáil passed a bill tabled by People before Profit TD Gino Kenny to make cannabis available in Ireland for medicinal use, after the Government said it would not oppose the legislation.

The International Cannabis Business Conference is holding their Berlin, Germany event on April 10th thru 12th, 2017. It’s a great opportunity to learn about cannabis in Europe and get a better grasp of what’s going on there. We thought this graphic would be especially appropriate with all the changes happening there. Hemp has long been grown in many EU nations and now they are starting to accept marijuana more and more, especially Germany and Spain.

In Germany, there are private companies that will soon be cultivating cannabis and patients will access it through pharmacies. In Spain, cannabis clubs are very common but still remain “private” and can’t promote themselves or advertise. Other nations are looking to change laws and lighten penalties surrounding cannabis.