Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
1055. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the reason the Food Safety Authority Ireland warning in relation to cannabis jellies was administered through the school system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53070/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra1056. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the recent warning issued from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland through the school system may cause negative consequences for the school-going children availing of the medicinal cannabis access programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53071/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1055 and 1056 together.
Tetrahydrocannabinol is a psychotropic substance which is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and can be harmful to human health if consumed. The Department of Health is concerned that consumption of these illegal cannabis edibles would pose significant public health risks. The Department is in close contact with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and other State Agencies working to curb the availability of these products in Ireland.
The FSAI initiated engagement with the Department of Education when it became aware of these illegal cannabis edibles being available in some school settings. Some schools had already sent out alerts to parents earlier in 2021 of their own volition warning parents of the dangers and potential availability of these edibles in the school setting. The FSAI advice on illegal cannabis edibles formed a short entry in the Department of Education circular to schools and was meant as a proactive measure by FSAI to encourage parents and guardians to proactively discuss the dangers of illegal cannabis edibles with their children in case they are offered to them in a school or social setting. This proactive approach by FSAI is justified by the evidence of availability of illegal cannabis edibles from Garda and customs seizures in 2021 along with the Irish Medical Journal publication about the hospitalisation of six children under ten years of age suffering serious health consequences after unwittingly consuming illegal cannabis edibles carelessly stored by older siblings and other people.
Statutory Instrument 262/2019 “The Misuse of Drugs (Prescription and Control of Supply of Cannabis for Medical Use) Regulations 2019” sets out the legal provisions for the operation of the Medical Cannabis Access Programme and the legal obligations for healthcare professionals and commercial operators. It also sets out how the access programme will work, who can avail of it, how it will be operated by the HSE and how cannabis-based products, made from whole dried flowers of the plant, are accepted for use under the programme and placed on Schedule 1 of the Regulations SI. Given the legislative basis of the programme and the fact that patients availing of the MCAP are being monitored by their treating consultants I would trust that there would no conflation between that and illicit use of a harmful controlled substance.
