Hemp Federation of Ireland (Hemp Federation Ireland)

Lobbying Organisation Hemp Federation of Ireland

Date published 20 Sep, 2022

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Agriculture

Period 1 May, 2022 to 31 Aug, 2022

Specific Details EU Commission advice to COM AGRI regarding appropriate regulation of the EU Agricultural hemp sector.

Intended results To provide up to date, accurate information on the regulation of the EU hemp crop and derived agricultural goods in Ireland to MEP's from Ireland who participated in the COM AGRI discussion.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Chris Allen

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (2-5)

A letter was sent to both Irish MEP's who participated in the debate requesting a meeting at short notice in Brussels.

Phone call (1)

A discussion of the EU Commission's clarification that regulation of the hemp crop and derived products as controlled drugs is wrong and mistaken. An update on the Minister for Health's proposed amendments to Irish Misuse of Drugs legislation where no scientific justification was offered by the Minister for Health as is required by EU law. The recent Irish High Court ruling on hemp where the judge clarifies “No scientific research has been tendered to demonstrate that the marketing of the products in question pose a genuine threat to public health. In these circumstances, I cannot but entertain serious doubts as to the compatibility of the said prohibition with EU law” , was also discussed.

Virtual Meeting (1)

A discussion of the EU Commission's clarification that regulation of the hemp crop and derived products as controlled drugs is wrong and mistaken as they are agricultural goods. An update on the Minister for Health's proposed amendments to Irish Misuse of Drugs legislation. where no scientific justification was offered by the Minister for Health as is required by EU law. The recent Irish High Court ruling on hemp where the judge clarifies “No scientific research has been tendered to demonstrate that the marketing of the products in question pose a genuine threat to public health. In these circumstances, I cannot but entertain serious doubts as to the compatibility of the said prohibition with EU law” , was also discussed.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Luke Ming Flanagan MEP (European Parliament)

Chris MacManus MEP (European Parliament)