A DUTCH lawyer has claimed the Irish Government is in breach of its commitments to the Schengen Agreement by not allowing a Galway man into the State in possession of cannabis he requires for medicinal purposes.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Noel McCullagh is involved in a legal battle to allow him to return to Ireland from the Netherlands in possession of his prescribed cannabis. Mr McCullagh said he has been unable to see his parents for two years because he would be arrested if found in possession of the drug by Customs officials.
His lawyer, Jasper Pauw, said that under Schengen, an agreement designed to abolish physical borders between European countries, Mr McCullagh should be allowed to bring the cannabis into Ireland.
“Ireland is not fully participating in the convention but in 2002 you signed up to part of it and you are a signatory to Article 75, which is the relevant article.
“This says when people use a medicine in a certain Schengen country and the medicine is legal in that country, people can travel freely inside the Schengen zone and bring that medicine as long as they have a certificate,” he said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman last night said: “As the law currently stands . . . it would not be possible for a cannabis extract to be licensed here for medicinal use. There are no exemptions.
“Any person entering the country with medicinal cannabis could be charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act with unauthorised possession. The Minister for Health and Children does not intend to change the law.”
The spokeswoman said Schengen compliance was a matter for the Department of Justice, which said: “Ireland will have to undergo an evaluation before we will be permitted to participate . . .this department is currently addressing the arrangements . . . for the implementation of a range of Schengen measures.”
