Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Our Bill stipulates that the full plant extract will be available to patients. That is the bud form, the oil form, etc.

As has been mentioned a number of times, the HPRA stipulated three conditions in its report. As far as I know, the medications that have been stipulated for the two conditions in question are Sativex and Epidiolex. That is like fast-tracking a pharmaceutical brand, and I have many problems with that.

Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about replacing other harmful drugs. It has been found in the US that, since medicinal cannabis has become a treatment, the use of opiates has decreased, as has the number of deaths. Pharmaceutical companies have a major problem with that. According to a report in TheGuardianlast November, the makers of Vicodin and OxyContin were prominent financial supporters of anti-cannabis lobbies and projects because sales of drugs, which were harmful, had decreased dramatically due to being replaced by medicinal cannabis. That can only be a good thing. Some opiates are extremely addictive and can be harmful or lead to death.