Professor Bryan Lynch:

I thank the Deputy, who has raised a very important point. For us, as clinicians, looking after patients with epilepsy, the evidence base is for pure CBD products and there is no evidence base for products which contain a component of THC. CannEpil, which is a product that has been mentioned a couple of times here, has a significant component of THC and there is no scientific evidence base for use of such a product for epilepsy. Epidiolex, which is the pharmaceutical product which has been mentioned, is a pure CBD product. From the very beginning going back to 2016, from when my colleagues and I engaged on this with the HSE and the Department of Health, what we have been looking for is a reliable, properly formulated, pure CBD, or as close to pure CBD as we can get, product that we can prescribe for our patients. That is not available through what is currently coming through the MCAP. As stated by my Department of Health and HSE colleagues, if Epidiolex is approved for reimbursement, that will solve that problem. We sincerely hope that will happen. However, I can speak for my colleagues when I say that we would not be prescribing CannEpil because that has a significant THC component and there is no evidence base for such a product to be effective for children and adults with epilepsy.