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To: Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach

Legalise Cannabis in Ireland

Promote non-partisan legislation to legalise and regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol.

Why is this important?

There is a global movement toward the decriminalisation of cannabis, supported by extensive research and large, real-world trials. Evidence demonstrates that legalisation can be accomplished in a manner which improves overall societal health and wellbeing, while generating substantial tax revenue for schools, hospitals, and other social services.

Furthermore, legalisation has resulted in reduced underage cannabis use [1], reduced opioid use and related deaths [2], and reduced alcohol consumption [3].

Furthermore, legal cannabis is a large and growing industry which creates many jobs and generates tax revenue [4]. Legal US States, with populations equivalent to Ireland, now receive over $100 million per year in taxes [5]. The legal cannabis market in the United States now generates approximately $18 billion per year in revenues [6].

Furthermore, ending prohibition correlates with reductions in serious crimes like rape (15-30% reduction) and theft (10-20% reduction), strongly indicating that prohibition governments make our communities less safe [7].

Therefore, in light of these findings, we are calling on the Taoiseach to immediately lead Ireland towards the legalisation and effective regulation of cannabis in order to improve our societal wellbeing.

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[1] https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/marijuana-among-teens-drops424/
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/legalised-cannabis-latest-solved-opioid-crisis-medical-marijuana-studies-scientific-jama-internal-a8293831.html & https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/legalised-cannabis-latest-solved-opioid-crisis-medical-marijuana-studies-scientific-jama-internal-a8293831.html
[3] http://blog.norml.org/2017/12/01/study-alcohol-sales-fall-following-cannabis-legalization/
[4] https://itep.org/five-years-in-cannabis-tax-haul-rivals-or-exceeds-alcohol-taxes-in-many-states/
[5] https://taxfoundation.org/recreational-marijuana-tax-revenue-by-state/
[6] https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/marijuana-sales-data-americans-bought-more-weed-to-survive-2020
[7] https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/161145/1/dp10522.pdf

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2022-05-01 19:23:10 +0100

20,000 signatures reached

2020-04-17 16:35:44 +0100

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2019-01-20 17:24:12 +0000

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2018-09-29 23:19:21 +0100

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2018-08-21 13:14:02 +0100

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2018-06-25 14:39:30 +0100

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2018-06-21 01:18:40 +0100

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2018-06-20 18:20:23 +0100

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2018-06-20 15:07:58 +0100

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