Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to a question around which the Chairman skirted. Were the manufacturers of cannabis-based drugs consulted?

I ask the delegates to give us some idea of their views on the side effects. To what extent would they expect there to be side effects from the use of the drugs, given their knowledge of cannabis as a component of drugs?

What would the consequences be of the Minister making a decision because of a motion or demands based on the serious issue of chronic pain to which others have referred? I agree entirely with the levels of pain being determined by the individual rather than in some general application of rules. One person could be in very severe pain but at a level which another person because of their pain threshold would be able to control within reason. As a person who suffers from back problems from time to time, I can tell the committee all about it. If the Minister makes a decision because of pressure to make some changes against the advice of clinicians, what will the consequences be?

I refer to the hallucinatory effects of a number of drugs and seek further elucidation on the level of pain balanced against the negative side effects.