Hello and welcome to the weekly roundup where each Sunday we look back at some of the news items making the headlines over the past seven days.

On Monday it was reported that cannabis plants worth an estimated €42,000 had been seized by gardaí in Co Mayo

On Monday it emerged that Irish comedian Andrew Maxwell is among those paying tribute to Howard Marks in London at the end of the month

On Tuesday it was reported that a former Irish Ranger who grew 16 cannabis plants was handed a two-year suspended sentence in Wexford

On Tuesday it was reported that a man who was holding over €100,000 worth of cannabis resin to pay off a €25,000 drugs debt has been sentenced to five years in prison

On Tuesday it emerged that new measures are to be introduced to allow for drug testing at all road accidents following Cabinet approval

On Tuesday it was reported that UCD Students’ Union voted against a motion supporting the legislation of cannabis in Ireland

On Wednesday it was reported that a judge imposed a three-year sentence with the final 18 months suspended on a man who delivered cannabis in electric fan boxes

On Wednesday it emerged that Gardai in Cavan have seized cannabis worth in the region of €6,000

On Thursday it was reported that there would be a further charge for Polish man in connection with a Longford cannabis grow house

On Thursday it emerged that a man’s case was adjourned after he told the court that he thought cannabis plants found on his property were tomato plants

On Friday it was reported that a Limerick man who hid almost 2kgs of cannabis in a disused cattle trough has been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment

On Friday a blog post by John Kilraine appeared on RTE looking at Dublin’s War on Drugs

On Saturday it was reported that a man avoided a prison sentence after stealing cannabis from a warehouse in Limerick due to the “unusual” circumstances of the case

On Saturday it emerged a 65 year old man will be in court later in the year after being charged with having €20,000 worth of cannabis on his property

On Saturday it was reported that a 34 year old has been charged with two counts of selling or supplying cannabis in Killarney

Activism:

A chapter of SSDP Ireland was established in DCU during the week

A student referendum on supporting cannabis legalisation is to take place in NUI Galway in March

Articles:

Early in the week I released an article which looked at a meeting a number of activists, including myself, had with Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan recently

During the week got a photocopy of George Sigeron’s pamphlet on Hemp in Ireland in 1886. This previous article on Sigerson gives some background information and a new one based on the pamphlet itself will be published in the coming days

On Saturday I posted an article which looks at the upcoming student referendum in NUI Galway on supporting cannabis legalisation