Drug policy experts have backed a family’s call for regulatory reform to protect patients travelling to Ireland with legal cannabis medication.
Jason Pickering was making the trip to Ireland to visit his late father’s grave, when his cannabis medication was seized at Dublin Airport on 23 December, 2024.
The 48-year-old has been prescribed medical cannabis flower, which was clearly labelled and in its original packaging, by a UK clinic since November 2020 to treat his anxiety.
Jason, travelling with his mother Dolores, was interviewed for two hours by customs officers, in what they described as an “interrogation”, before Gardaí (Irish police) confiscated his prescription—worth around £360— to be “burned”.
Speaking to Cannabis Health, Dolores described the incident as “horrendous”, with Jason left without access to any medication over the Christmas break, until his return to their home near Bath, five days later.
Jason says he has struggled with anxiety for most of his life but his condition was exacerbated by a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2020 and his father’s battle with dementia, during which he and his mother became full-time carers up until his death last year.
Although medical cannabis is legal on prescription in both Ireland and the UK under certain conditions, neither jurisdiction recognises prescriptions from the other. The Irish government considers unlicensed cannabis medicines (the majority of those prescribed in the UK) Schedule 1 drugs, and does not permit visitors to bring them into the country.
Up until now, Jason said he and his mother, an Irish national who has lived in the UK for the last 60 years, have made the trip via ferry and airports a number of times before—always declaring his prescription—without any issue.
“It breaks my heart that I can’t go back and see my dad,” says Jason, who feels he has effectively been “banned” from the country.
Since returning to the UK, Dolores has written to Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin, highlighting the need for a change in policy to allow patients to bring legal cannabis-based medication into the country from other jurisdictions.
“I went straight to the government when we got back,” she says. “We are not the only ones affected by this. I’m prepared to do anything that will help the situation for other people. I believe in justice… it’s a legal prescription.”
A “systemic issue” with Ireland’s medical cannabis policy
Jason’s experience reflects a “systemic issue” with Ireland’s medical cannabis policy, according to Natalie O’Regan, an legal researcher and drug policy advocate in Ireland.
“The case of Jason—and others like him—underscores critical deficiencies in Ireland’s approach to medical cannabis policy,” she told Cannabis Health.
“Currently, Ireland does not permit individuals to bring legally prescribed medical cannabis into the country, placing patients in an untenable position.”
This includes Irish patients who have emigrated to countries like Spain after being unable to access medical cannabis at home.
Medical cannabis is available on prescription in Ireland via the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP) or through a ministerial license, however access is much more restrictive than in the UK, with only three qualifying conditions.
“There are several documented cases of ‘medical refugees’—individuals who have been forced to emigrate to access medical cannabis,” O’Regan continued.
“These patients face significant challenges when attempting to return home, particularly during the holiday season, as doing so would mean either forfeiting access to their medication or risking confiscation and potential criminal prosecution upon entry to Ireland.”
O’Regan also notes that the policy “disproportionately impacts those living in border communities”, many of whom commute between the North of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for work or daily activities.
While Northern Ireland operates a medical cannabis programme similar to that in the UK, patients in the North are prohibited from taking their medication across the border, imposing “undue hardship” on patients, she says.
Calls for a “harmonised” approach to medical cannabis
O’Regan and others have supported Jason and Dolores’s call for patients to be able to travel freely between Ireland and the UK with their prescribed medical cannabis, in alignment with the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement, which permits the free movement of people between Ireland and the UK.
Speaking to the Irish Times in January, former TD, Gino Kenny, of the People Before Profit party, described the situation as “ludicrous”.
“At a fundamental level, medical cannabis patients should be afforded the same rights and protections as individuals prescribed any other form of medication,” O’Regan said.
“Recognising medical cannabis prescriptions issued in jurisdictions with established regulatory frameworks would mitigate unnecessary legal and logistical barriers, ultimately improving patient outcomes.”
Jason and Dolores are planning to attend an upcoming campaign in Dublin on 20 March, 2025, amid ongoing calls for policymakers to adopt a “more comprehensive and inclusive” medical cannabis programme.
MCAP was introduced as a five-year pilot scheme in 2019 to determine its efficacy and potential for expansion. According to O’Regan, a clinical review has been undertaken by the Department of Health but is yet to be published.
Meanwhile, with a change in Health Minister in the recent election, there appears to be “little political appetite” for reform within the government, and according to O’Regan, any meaningful policy change remains unlikely in the near future.
Cannabis subject to “strictest levels of control”, says government
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “Under the Irish Misuse of Drugs Acts, and associated regulations, cannabis is a Schedule 1 controlled drug and is subject to the strictest levels of control.
“There are cannabis-based medicines with a marketing authorisation (i.e. they are regulatory approved medicines) 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.
“Cannabis-based products with no marketing authorisation (not regulatory approved medicines) are still classified as Schedule 1 controlled drugs, and visitors to the country may not bring any Schedule 1 controlled drugs into the country. Similarly, EU member states make their own policy decisions in relation to both the prescribing and transport of Schedule 1 controlled drugs.
The UK and Ireland do not recognise prescriptions for Schedule 1 controlled drugs from the other jurisdiction.
For example:
- A prescription for a Scheduled 1 controlled drug from one jurisdiction will not be dispensed in the other jurisdiction.
- A person cannot travel between either jurisdiction with a Schedule 1 controlled drug prescribed and dispensed in the other jurisdiction.
“The actions of customs officers are a matter for Revenue.”
Patients wishing to travel overseas with their prescription are advised to contact the embassy beforehand and ensure they have all the necessary documentation, including a letter from their prescribing doctor.
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Author: Sarah Sinclair
