‘It’s not quite the elixir of life, but it’s close,’ says seller of THC-free product
The Irish Times
The first health food store in Limerick to stock cannabis oil products says sales have “skyrocketed” in recent months following calls for psychoactive cannabis products to be legalised for medicinal purposes.
The first health food store in Limerick to stock cannabis oil products says sales have “skyrocketed” in recent months following calls for psychoactive cannabis products to be legalised for medicinal purposes.
Cillin Cleere, the proprietor of
Eats of Eden on Thomas Street in Limerick city, said their cannabis oil
products were now among their 10 best-selling products since they began
stocking a variety of products four months ago.
He said cannabis oil could be used for a “range of neurological and physical benefits”
“The sales have been astronomical,” said Mr Cleere, who is also a biochemist and nutritional therapist.
He said cannabis oil could be used
for a “range of neurological and physical benefits”, but he stressed
“CBD [cannabidiol] oil is not a magic bullet or panacea. If you have
chronic health concerns you should consider your whole lifestyle and
diet first and foremost. It’s not quite the elixir of life, but it’s
close.”
He was speaking ahead of a meeting
of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health on Wednesday to examine the
Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 and possible legal
barriers to its enactment.
The Bill, sponsored by People
Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, was passed by the the Dáil after the
Government said it would not oppose it. It proposes the establishment of
a “cannabis regulation authority” to provide for the licensing of the
supply of cannabis for medicinal use.
Department of Health officials
told the committee last month that a monitored programme for sufferers
of certain medical conditions could be in place by autumn.
No high
Mr Cleere said staff in the shop
had received many inquiries from customers about whether they could get
“stoned” or “high” from the products, but he said the majority of those
who came in seeking to buy it were “very well-informed and clued-in”
regarding its reputed health benefits.
To be sold legally, the products
have to be free of THC – tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive
compound found in illegal cannabis herb and resin.
“It’s not marijuana oil. If you
come in with the intention of getting stoned off it, you can’t. This is
essentially hemp. It’s a first cousin of marijuana, but they then branch
off, as one has THC and the other one doesn’t.”
Mr Cleere said they have had “lots
of positive feedback from lots of customers, of all ages, including
those in their mid-80s, who have bought it and use it for a variety of
reasons”.
They began stocking a number of
Swiss, Northern Irish and Irish-made cannabis oil products four months
ago, which range in price, depending on the strength and volume of the
individual product, from €18 to €73.
The Law Society at the University
of Limerick hosted a talk on Monday night on whether cannabis should be
legalised for medical purposes, but could not find any opponents to
argue that it shouldn’t.
Among the speakers were Vera
Twomey, who earlier this year walked more than 200km from Cork and to
the Dáil in Dublin in her bid to secure medicinal cannabis, containing
THC, for her seriously ill daughter.
She has said that her daughter Ava
(7), who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome,
has seen the number and severity of her seizures reduced due to a
cannabis treatment known as Charlotte’s Web.
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