Dr. Peadar O'Grady:

It came up on the Second Stage of the debate on this that removing cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act, as the Bill recommends, leaves open the notion of possession being decriminalised in general. In some ways, there needs to be an amendment, as we have acknowledged and acknowledge again today, to restore possession of cannabis for reasons other than medicinal use without a certificate as an offence. There may need to be further detail as to whether one needs to carry a certificate at all times one is in possession of one's medication, which one would not have to do in any other case.

The Bill provides for a certificate because we appreciate the past history and concerns about diversion and so on. It probably would be necessary. A key element of the Bill is that the certificate not alone gives access through a pharmacy but also gives legal protection against wrongful prosecution.