A 35 year old man who was prosecuted for having cannabis for sale or supply, had been supplying an elderly family member with the drug during the pandemic, Dundalk district court was told last week.

The defendant with an address at the time at the ***redacted address*** , Dundalk was also charged with the unlawful possession of cannabis and Alprazolam on January 16th 2020.

Seven small bags and two larger bags of cannabis were found along with 15 tablets of the prescription medication, after members of the local drugs unit stopped and searched the defendant who was seen “acting suspiciously”.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan heard the defendant, who had previously been officially notified by the Gardaí of a threat to his life, is currently living in assisted housing. The defence solicitor added that his client had been legitimately prescribed Alprazolam, but the prescription had expired.

He also said that the defendant also has significant health problems and explained that his client's family member has been in residential care for 18 months and during Covid the defendant had brought them the cannabis to provide “some comfort”.

Judge McKiernan imposed a two month sentence but suspended it on the defendant entering a bond to be of good behavior for a period of 12 months.

Such a waste of time and resources here again by the Irish state due to the prohibition of Cannabis. The defendant in this situation clearly had some problems given his prescription of Alprazolam (Xanax) but is it possible that the cannabis was helping him so much he didn’t need to take them as much leading to his prescription expiring. The elderly relative in this case was also benefitting from the mans actions, I know myself when my uncle (RIP Willy) was in Mary mount hospice the nurses had no problem with him coming outside for a joint and would even sometimes help him out in his wheel chair to relax with a joint. The man would of went insane if he was denied this.

Its no secret either that many people who consume cannabis might also sell some to a few friends or family in order to cover the cost of their own consumption or just to help friends out who might not have contacts. I know I have done so myself on many occasion in the past and most likely in the future too. I’d imagine if you were to ask any of the people who I sold cannabis to over the years if I should be in prison for doing so you would get a unanimous NO!

I can only imagine the same would go for the defendant in this case. People are happy to go buy cannabis from a person who is not going to rip them off but yet the state continues with this failed prohibition of Cannabis. People like the man in this case are providing a service in their community, a service which should have been regulated a long time ago. Cannabis prohibition hurts everyone who falls prey to it , it costs the state millions every year to uphold and the only people who benefit from it are the organised crime gangs who make billions selling Cannabis.

This man now has to live for 12 months looking over his shoulder worried and anxious that he might have the 2 month sentence activated if he goes back to using cannabis for his condition. If cannabis was not prohibited in Ireland this man could be getting assistance from health professionals to use cannabis to help manage the symptoms of his condition which he required the Alprazolam/Xanax for. Instead now because of cannabis prohibition he wont have much choice but to revert back to his old prescriptions.