Ireland moved closer to legalizing marijuana for medicinal use when the minority government on Thursday said it would not block the first reading of a bill that is backed by all other parties.
Relaxing marijuana laws would signal a further acceptance of liberal values in once staunchly conservative Ireland.
Last year Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote, having only decriminalized homosexuality and made divorce legal two decades ago.
Irish Minister for Health Simon Harris, whose government is not large enough to block legislation, said he would seek some amendments at a later stage.
However, he accepted the central objectives of the legislation introduced by left-wing opposition lawmaker Gino Kenny that would see Ireland join countries such as Italy, the Czech Republic and Australia in relaxing its laws on medical grounds.
“While there are elements I do not and will not support, I don’t wish to divide the Dail [parliament],” Harris said in a statement, adding he had made clear he wanted to see policy in this area reviewed. “I share the concerns of patients who believe that cannabis should be a treatment option for certain medical conditions and I recognize the urgency and worry they feel.”
Harris said he wanted to remove references from the bill that could have the effect of making it legal for anyone to possess cannabis, including for recreational purposes — changes Kenny said he would accept.
“It’s been overwhelming, not only in the Dail, but to see the people who have contacted us and who are trying to access medical cannabis for themselves or their children,” Kenny, a People Before Profit Alliance party lawmaker, told national broadcaster RTE.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was