Thomas Gould
Question:570. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the funding provided to the medicinal cannabis access programme to date in 2021. [34051/21]
View answerTuesday, 29 June 2021
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Written answers
In June 2019, the then Minister for Health signed legislation to underpin the operation of the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP). This is a 5-year pilot programme, restricted to prescribing of cannabis-based products by medical consultants, for patients with certain medical conditions who have exhausted all other available medical treatment options. The HSE have now included the MCAP as part of its National Service Plan 2021 and the conditions that are covered under the MCAP are:
- Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis
- Intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
- Severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.
The Deputy will be aware that additional funding of €50m has been provided for new medicines in Budget 2021. This budget allocation will provide for the reimbursement of the MCAP.