Police in Cork, Ireland have removed six cannabis plants that were placed outside of the City Hall by a pro-cannabis activist, the Irish Examiner reports. Martin Condon planted the specimens in front of City Hall with little signs reading “#BringAliciaHome”—a reference to Alicia Maher, a cannabis patient who moved to Spain after she was unable to get cannabis in Ireland to treat her chronic pain.
“It’s important that we’re down here doing this, highlighting the suffering caused by the prohibition of cannabis. Alicia Maher is a Cork girl who had to leave home because of lack of access to cannabis here. She’s living over in Alicante in exile, a medical cannabis refugee. … Why can’t Ireland, a European country, provide the same to our citizens as what’s provided to citizens in Spain?”— Condon in a video posted to his Facebook page, Martin’s World
Earlier this month, Condon twice planted cannabis by the Shandon Bridge in the city, with signs reading “#TalkToVera” to highlight the case of Vera Twomey and her daughter Ava. Ava has a license to receive the medical cannabis product Bedrocan from The Netherlands but it costs the family nearly €10,000 every three months—which was not reimbursed under Ireland’s national healthcare program until this week when Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced the state would cover the costs for Twomey and 16 other families in Ireland.
However, Condon said despite the change, very few patients are allowed to access Ireland’s program.
“I’m going to continue to engage with this campaign of civil disobedience until patients have effective access to cannabis and this prohibition is ended,” he said in the report.
Police said they are analyzing the plants and the investigation is ongoing.
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