Dr. Peadar O'Grady:

On the membership of the authority, I refer people to section 10 which provides that members of the board shall be appointed by the Minister and its constitution shall reflect the need for the efficient and effective running of the authority. The key concerns we outline in the section are that there should be an adequate gender balance and that members should have relevant experience. Those are the only strictures we set out, but if any section of the Bill could be amended to improve access to medicinal cannabis for those who need it, we are wide open to suggestions. Section 10 is the extent of the provision at the moment.

We were asked about advertisements and the number of pharmacies we envisage applying for a licence. We hope the majority of pharmacies will apply. Pharmacies will obviously be free to apply or not. It is a key stricture in the rationale of the Bill that it does not seek to prejudge or prescribe to pharmacists or doctors what they should or should not do. If there is a feature of the Bill which does so, it needs amending. It is hoped all pharmacies will apply for a licence.

Advertising medicines to the public is a dubious and otherwise illegal practice. Even advertising to the medical profession and pharmacists is a questionable practice, albeit a currently permissible one in respect of other medicines. That clash might cause a problem for the manufacturer asking to be treated on a like-for-like basis, but it will be a matter of which change we make. Do we stop the advertising of medications to professionals who should be getting their continuing professional development from proper educational sources rather than from manufacturers and marketers? As such, the issue of the restriction on advertising might be a matter to be taken up in other areas of pharmaceutical marketing.