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LAST UPDATE | 26 Jun 2019
HEALTH MINISTER SIMON Harris has today signed legislation to allow for the operation of the Medical Cannabis Access Programme on a pilot basis for five years.
The minister said it is going to take “a little bit of time to fully establish” the scheme, as supply couldn’t be brought in until the law was signed today.
“I expect patients to be in a position to access the scheme in the autumn,” he said.
It’s over two years since the minister announced that a medicinal cannabis access scheme was to be established.
The delay resulted in clashes in the Dáil between government members and the opposition, with problems finding a quality assured supplier of cannabis and a supplier that can export its products to Ireland being blamed for the hold-up.
In March, it was confirmed that a medicinal cannabis product for Irish import was identified, with government sources stating that the legislation to allow the scheme get up and running was to be signed off on before the summer.
The new scheme will facilitate access to cannabis-based products for medical use, that are of a standardised quality and which meet the requirements outlined in the legislation.
Commenting on the launch today, Harris said “it is important to state that there are no plans to legalise cannabis in this country. The purpose of this programme is to facilitate compassionate access to cannabis for medical reasons, where conventional treatment has failed”.
He added:
“Ultimately it will be the decision of the medical consultant, in consultation with their patient, to prescribe a particular treatment, including a cannabis-based treatment, for a patient under their care.”
The medicinal cannabis access scheme will now make it possible for a medical consultant to prescribe a cannabis-based treatment for a patient under his or her care, but only for patients with specific medical conditions, where the patient has failed to respond to standard treatments.
These conditions are:
The signing of the legislation today will allow for potential suppliers to apply to have their medical cannabis products assessed for suitability for medical use.
Currently no medical cannabis products are available in Ireland, which is why Department of Health officials had to travel to Europe to consult with initial suitable suppliers.
However, this legislation now means that commercial operators whose cannabis products meet the specified requirements set out in the legislation will be able to supply these products to the Irish market.
Any prospective suppliers can apply to the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to have a product considered for inclusion in the schedule of ‘specified controlled drugs’.
A controlled drugs licence will be required for possession, supply or import of such cannabis products, and if a supplier is approved, the licence will be processed by the HPRA.
With the signing of the law today, the minister said he expects suppliers to now make applications to supply to the agency.
Pharmacists will also be able to dispense cannabis for medical use to patients under the new law.
He said the cost will be the same as getting any other prescription in a pharmacy.
“You will be assessed on the same basis – if you get the drug payment scheme you will be covered in that, if you have the medical card, you’ll be covered under the prescription charges, if you are on long-term illness, you will covered under that,” he explained to reporters today.
The minister said this is a “scheme of last resort” to many patients, and said he did not want to put a number on the predicted number of people that will sign up to the scheme, however, one government source said the department believes it could be in the thousands.
In terms of the cost for the State, that is a matter the government will now have to engage with suppliers on, said Harris today.
While it is relatively early days with the programme, Harris previously told this website that Ireland could own its own medicinal cannabis supply in the future.
In an interview for The Explainer podcast, TheJournal.ie spoke to Harris about whether Ireland would one day grow its own medicinal cannabis.
He said he has a “very open mind” about Ireland doing so, stating that his “gut feeling is [that] it should”.
The minister went one step further, indicating that the State or the public health service might end up owning its own medicinal cannabis supply.
The idea of Bórd na Móna taking up responsibility for growing Ireland’s medicinal cannabis supply has also been floated by Cabinet ministers.
With the launch of the new scheme today, the department also reminded people that offences and penalties for unauthorised supply and possession of controlled substances remains unchanged.
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4 hours?? The ones in Mayo have been burning for 2 full days now!!
The fires in Erris co mayo last night were one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. People were even evacuated from their homes.
I’m on Achill for the week and we’ve seen smoke from the same area for 3 days now, nothing under control about the fires down here.
4 days now!
How are these fires starting? It’s not like we have had weeks of dry weather and scorching sunshine. I’m not being sarcastic, I’m just really curious as to how these fires are happening.
I kid you not , last year I rang the local Garda station about fires in our area. This is what the Garda said, no joke……
Garda – sir have you ever heard or NASA
Me – yes
Garda – well they told us that a meteor was about to land in Ireland somewhere this evening
Me – really , I heard nothing in any radio station , news , think that would be quite news worthy
Garda – well it’s just in
Me – really
Garda – yes , so it may have hit your area and that is causing the fires
Me – you are taking the piss !
Garda – no that is the truth
Me – right…….. Thanks ……. So it not a local farmer setting off the fires to burn the gorse !
Garda – no a meteor
Me – right ………thanks ………. Hung up ……… WTF!!
So in short , no one really cares if your house is burned down!
They are burning the heather and clearing land. But killing thousands and thousands of wildlife in the process. Normally the fire wouldn’t spread but because the weather is so dry it’s rampant. Only 3 fire engines battling 4 large fires in Mayo. They haven’t the resources to calm these fires.
Considering it was a fire would it not have been more appropriate to ring the fire brigade!!!
Why would you ring the gardai about a fire. Would u ring them when your sick as well???
Peter everybody knows that you ring the guards when you’re sick, you are locked out of your house, there is a fire, there’s an object in the sky which may be a flare or even a UFO, when there’s a smell of gas, when your sister gets sunburned, when you find a dog, when people communicate with you through their televisions, when you see a ghost, when you get crap food in a restaurant, when you are refused entry to a night club because you’re pissed and most of all when there is any sort of noise RING THE GUARDS they are trained in all of the above!
The fires were happening every night for 2 weeks ,hence rang the Garda as its illegal to light fires in public areas …………
its a gorse fire not a forest fire.
Could it be farmers clearing land for sheep?
They should ban this outright and start throwing people in jail for it before some one loses their home or worse.
Idiot farmers burning land they have no intention of using anyway because of some old notion that belongs with the fairy forts and leprechauns.
This state has a divison of the Civil Defence that is called the Auxiliary Fire Service. If all retained or FT unots are stretched then they should be utilised.
That fire in the Silvermines mountains last night was pretty terrifying, it stretched the whole length of the mountain, was a sight to see.
I was on my way home from Shannon. The smoke could be seen at the toll bridge on the Shannon side of Limerick and I could still see it from Borrisokane. From the Limerick side, it looked like the whole mountain was about to erupt. It was an amazing sight. Nowhere to pull up to take pics though. I can’t imagine the smell that must have lingered in those houses in its path. Everything must be destroyed.
Can be something stupid like someone throwing a cigarette butt to a spark from a chimney .
Love how they only let farmers burn before the 1st of march, great burning weather that time of the year!
Its shatters fault for trying to cut wages come on people open your eyes don’t be sheep
Not sure if troll….or complete idiot…. :|
I’m thinking both!
Not to worry, the rains making a swift return.
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