Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Anybody who attended the briefing in the AV Room yesterday with Vera Twomey and John O'Meara, whose children require medicinal cannabis, could not but have been moved into immediate action to help them and the thousands of other families who urgently require access to medicinal cannabis. Deputy Gino Kenny has a Bill before the Dáil which seeks to legalise cannabis for medicinal use. We had the support of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to have that Bill taken in the House next Thursday but, unfortunately, it was blocked by everybody else on a procedural basis and the Bill will not now come before the Dáil until 16 December. The Government Whip indicated to us this morning that the Minister for Health is awaiting a report from the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes but the Minister did not inform the Whip until after the meeting with the families that this report will not be available until the end of January 2017.

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