Dr. Peadar O'Grady:

To make a final point, there is nothing that we are aware of in this Bill, and certainly nothing we intended, to affect the rights or duties of a doctor or a pharmacist. Whatever one is obliged to do in terms of recommendations, prescriptions and so forth is still a requirement. The Bill protects the patient from unnecessary criminalisation and protects all levels. Currently, from production to consumption has no regulation. In terms of production, it is mainly through importation. There will be little production in Ireland. That might be an issue in the future but it is not dealt with in the Bill to any great extent. The Bill seeks to ensure that all of the process is licensed to ensure good quality medical product ends up in the pharmacy, that the product can only be got by a person with a certificate and that the certificate will defend them against prosecution. Everything the doctor recommends must be based on good medical practice, and that will take a while. The fact the HPRA did not ask for experts with experience of using medicinal cannabis was largely because there is none. That is because it is illegal to use cannabis in Ireland. This Bill makes it legal to use it for medicinal purposes. If anybody thinks there is a way of amending any part of the Bill, including the certification part, to make access to medical cannabis safer, better or better facilitated, we would be interested in their suggestions. The certificate is designed to ensure that only people who will benefit will be able to get access.

With regard to how much additional information the doctor gives, of course the doctor will have to see the patient. If they need to see them for any other treatment, they will need to see them in the same way to prescribe cannabis. If they do not, they will be dealt with in the same way. It happens occasionally that people write scripts for drugs that have a street value and those people often end up being stricken from the medical register. None of those rules is in any way breached or commented on in our Bill. There is no attempt to change or alter in any way the rights or responsibilities of a doctor or pharmacist. I cannot emphasise that enough.