The Garda Commissioner said this evening that decriminalising cannabis should now be considered in cases where there is a genuine medical need. Pat Byrne told the McGill Summer School that there was merit in considering whether there was a genuine medical use for cannabis or its derivatives.
However, he insisted that the medical issue should not be used as a stalking horse by those who seek to promote the unrestricted use or legalisation of the drug. He said that the Gardaí focus on drug dealers, and decriminalising cannabis would not put these people out of business.
