A woman in her late 70s had her Christmas in Ireland with her son “absolutely ruined” after his medically prescribed cannabis was seized at Dublin Airport and both were “interrogated” for two hours, causing them to miss a connecting flight.
Despite being legal under strict circumstances in the UK, cannabis leaf remains a controlled substance in the Republic and cannot be legally held, a situation that one leading campaigner for change in the law described as “ludicrous”.
Dolores Pickering, an Irish national living mainly in the UK for 60 years, arrived in Dublin Airport with her son Jason (48) on December 23rd with a view to flying on to Kerry to visit the grave of her husband, who died last year.
When they arrived, they presented themselves to Customs officials and explained he was carrying just under 20g of leaf cannabis, legally prescribed by a clinic in London to treat a chronic anxiety condition.
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Ms Pickering said they had done this before when travelling through Irish ports and airports, including Rosslare, Cork and Kerry.
“We always declare it and have never had a problem,” she said.
“We’ve been on the ferry to and from Ireland four times and went to Lourdes last year with no problem. We always declare it, because otherwise I wouldn’t do it, you know? I mean, God, I’m nearly 80.”
She was “horrified” when the officials took them to “what I would call an interrogation room and we were held there for about two hours”. They had to wait eight hours for a new connecting flight.
Mr Pickering was diagnosed with severe anxiety several years ago. It was suggested that cannabis could help but not before two courses of alternate medications were tried, both of which proved to be ineffective.
Ms Pickering said that since he started taking the drug regularly he has become “a different person”.
“He can talk. He doesn’t get anxious. He can walk into a hotel. He doesn’t have to worry. He’s got no problem, no problem. He can go anywhere with no problems at all,” she said.
Mr Pickering said his prescription cannabis is in a clearly labelled box and he carries a Sunflower Card to indicate a hidden disability.
He said he had come to Ireland on several occasions without issue, but this time “had been made to feel like a criminal.
“To be interviewed under caution, and my mam as well, and then to have everything taken off me and destroyed – but to be told I’m not in any trouble. So why was it taken off me? Why was I questioned if I am not in any trouble?” he said.
Mr Pickering said spending almost a full day at Dublin Airport did nothing to help with his anxiety, “and I couldn’t sleep for the four days we were in Kerry”.
The mother and son returned to their home near Bath in the post-Christmas period, but Ms Pickering remains furious.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so badly treated in my life? It was horrific. We didn’t know what to do when we got to Killarney. We could probably have bought cannabis on the street; we saw loads of people smoking it, but we wouldn’t get it unless we had a prescription,” she said.
“It ruined our Christmas, absolutely ruined it. We came home and we’ve literally been sitting indoors ever since. It was an interrogation that was so unnecessary when he had everything legal in front of them.”
People Before Profit’s Gino Kenny, who spent years campaigning for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis and who lost his Dáil seat in the general election last November said he was entirely unsurprised by the story.
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“We have a ludicrous situation where people can be criminalised even if they have a medical cannabis licence,” he said.
“If you have the raw form and come into the country, you’re breaking the law because under the Misuse of Drugs act there’s no tolerance for THC whatsoever,” he added, referring to tetrahydrocannabinol, a chemical compound in cannabis.
He noted that 18 grammes of cannabis was “enough to be done for sale and supply – it really is ludicrous, especially if you have a prescription”.
While medical cannabis is legal in some very limited circumstances in Ireland, there “has always been resistance in terms of progressing to the next stage, and it’s extremely frustrating,” he said. “The whole situation is medieval.”
A spokeswoman for Revenue said that while it could not comment on individual cases, “cannabis is a controlled drug and is subject to seizure”.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said there are approved cannabis-based medicines with a marketing authorisation which visitors to the country may bring with them for personal use, “provided they also have the necessary documentary evidence such as original packaging, copies of prescriptions”.
However, cannabis-based products with no authorisation were “still classified as Schedule 1 controlled drugs, and visitors to the country may not bring any Schedule 1 controlled drugs into the country”, he said.
He said neither the UK nor Ireland recognise prescriptions for Schedule 1 controlled drugs from the other jurisdiction, and prescriptions from one jurisdiction will not be dispensed in the other jurisdiction.
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