Mr. Eugene Lennon:

I think so. It is not one regulation. We would need at least one new regulation and to amend a number of existing regulations. There are also many complexities about cannabis being a schedule 1 drug.

There were a number of questions about the current licensing arrangement, what is required for an application for a licence, and how many licence applications there have been. There have only been two licence applications. They are both from GPs. In terms of who makes the licence application, there is obviously an applicant, but the applicant may include supporting documentation or information from others involved in the case. In a number of parliamentary questions, the Minister has set out what one might generally expect to see in an application for a licence. This includes an outline of the treatment the patient has received to date, and a justification from the doctor as to why it is appropriate, in their patient's specific circumstances, to prescribe cannabis, a schedule 1 drug.

The point Dr. Nolan has made is that schedule 1 drugs are not intended for medicinal use, so it must be an exceptional case. One is always asking why, in any specific case, a licence should be granted for cannabis. We also require the details of the cannabis-based product which it is proposed to prescribe and administer to patients, the source of the cannabis-based product and the arrangements for the ongoing monitoring and care of the patient once the cannabis-based treatment has commenced. I refer members to the statement from the chief medical officer yesterday. He said that an appropriate application, endorsed by a consultant who is responsible for the management of the patient and is prepared to monitor the effects of the treatment over time, has to be submitted to the Department of Health. A consultant does not have to personally apply in each case, but certainly the consultant should endorse the course of treatment that is proposed and be able to take responsibility for the overall treatment of that patient. People with the conditions mentioned most frequently in regard to the use of cannabis, such as epilepsy or multiple sclerosis, are already under the care of a consultant.

Those are probably the main points on the licence and the applications that have come in to date.