Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
637. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health if in order to apply for a licence for medicinal cannabis a consultant is required to go through an exhaustive list of conventional medications (details supplied). [54412/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Misuse of Drugs legal framework, it is open to a medical practitioner to apply for a Ministerial licence for medical cannabis for the treatment of a patient under his or her care.
It is important to note that the decision to prescribe or not prescribe any treatment, including cannabis treatment, for an individual patient is strictly a decision for the treating clinician, in consultation with their patient. The Minister for Health has no role in this clinical decision-making process.
In late 2016 I requested the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to carry out a review of the scientific evidence of the potential medical use of cannabis. The HPRA report was published in February 2017. In this report the HPRA advised that cannabis should only be made available for the treatment of patients with specified medical conditions which have failed to respond to all other previous treatments, and where there is at least modest evidence that cannabis may be effective and such patients should be under the direct supervision of an appropriately trained and experienced medical consultant.
I would strongly advise that the Deputy and any persons interested in the use of cannabis for medical purposes to consult the Department of Health website which contains detailed information on the matter, including information on the types of cannabis products and the specified medical conditions for which they may be used to treat, as well as clinical guidance on its use. This information can be found at the following website:
health.gov.ie/cannabis-for-medical-use.
