Dáil debates

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Cannabis for Medicinal Use (Regulations) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

8:45 pm

Photo of Michael HartyMichael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am in a difficult position because I fully support legalising medicinal cannabis as a medical product and I believe it is important that the Dáil gets this legislation right. Unfortunately, however, I oppose the Bill. Cannabis-based products, as outlined in the Bill, are products which contain any quantity of cannabis that can be sold in wholesale or retail outlets and be imported into or grown in Ireland. As outlined in the Bill, cannabis for medicinal use includes smoking cannabis, which is fundamentally flawed. There is a subtle but critically important difference between the terms "cannabis for medical use" and "medicinal cannabis". Medicinal cannabis refers to oils that contain a high percentage of cannabidiol, CBD, and a low level of tetrahydrocannabinol, TCH, cannabinoids. These are extracted from the cannabis plant and produced in the form of oils or nasal sprays which have beneficial effects for patients and which have minimal or no psychoactive properties. Traditionally, cannabis for medical use over centuries was smoking cannabis. However, smoking cannabis is a gateway drug which often leads to developing more destructive misuse of drugs and which, in susceptible individuals, may precipitate lifelong psychotic illness. I have direct evidence of that in my practice.

This Bill is designed to legalise the smoking of cannabis for recreational purposes under the guise of promoting it for alleviation of medical symptoms. The Bill proposes a cannabis regulatory authority separate from the Health Products Regulatory Authority. If medical cannabis is to be approved, licensed, regulated and monitored, why would a separate body be required? The Bill establishes a cannabis research unit to study the consumption of cannabis for smoking, medical use and recreation. This Bill promotes awareness of cannabis use, including the advancement of education relating to the safe use of cannabis. This implies that cannabis will be used outside medical parameters. The Bill proposes that cannabis can be grown at certified premises and amounts grown will be determined by the demand for cannabis. The sale of cannabis will be through a licensed wholesaler, retailer or registered pharmacy. No prescription is required, just a certificate from a registered doctor stating that the patient has a condition for which a trial of cannabis is a reasonable course of treatment. The maximum quantity of cannabis sold on such a certificate at any one time is 1 oz. There is no reference in the Bill to what medical conditions are to be covered or how they will be selected.

Last week, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health examined the use of CBD oil for the treatment of specific neurological conditions such as profound epilepsy. Evidence was given that high percentage CBD-low percentage THC oil has the potential to greatly improve this condition and possibly other neurological conditions such as chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and spastic muscular conditions. The Health Products Regulatory Authority and expert witnesses outlined the criteria and the medical evidence which was needed to allow high percentage CBD-low percentage THC oil to be considered as a medical product. This product would be approved if found to be safe, effective, be of consistent quality, be efficacious and based on peer-reviewed clinical and scientific data. I fully endorse that position. In other words, it would be viewed as a medicine with ongoing surveillance. It would be prescribed by a suitably qualified doctor and dispensed by a qualified pharmacist. At no time during the hearing was the smoking of cannabis promoted or accepted as a treatment for any medical conditions nor is the authority contemplating the regulation of smoking cannabis as a treatment in the future. This Bill proposes to deregulate the possession of cannabis for smoking under the guise of promoting it as equal or similar to CBD based oils. The report of Michael and Jennifer Barnes in May 2016, entitled Cannabis: the Evidence for Medical Use, states that medical recommendations would be that cannabis should not be taken as a smoked product as there are safer ways to administer it, such as orally, by vapour or oromucosal spray or in food.

This Bill proposes to remove cannabis from the list of drugs prohibited under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and other statutory instruments. Lest there be any doubt about the intention of the Bill, section 44 proposes to amend the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 which bans tobacco smoking in the workplace. This amendment includes the banning of smoking cannabis in the workplace. This implies that smoking cannabis outside the workplace will be legal under the Bill. This legislation will not assist the cause of those families that desperately want approval of CBD oil because it links the availability of CBD oil to the sale of smoking cannabis. Medicinal cannabis should be viewed as a medicine, with suitable criteria applying. This Bill does not fulfil those criteria. On the points I have raised this evening, I feel this Bill is so flawed that it should not be given a Second Reading.

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