Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am supporting Deputy Gino Kenny's Bill in the hope that we can make it possible for some of our country's sickest children and adults to be free from pain and suffering. I am supporting it for children such as Ava Barry. I have received many e-mails asking me to support the Bill and explaining how necessary it is to improve the quality of life for those suffering seizures and chronic pain.

I will read an excerpt from an e-mail I received from a parent yesterday. It states:

Finally when he was 17, we managed to source the medicinal marijuana in the form of cannabinoid that we had so long been looking for. His seizures decreased by about two thirds very quickly. He became more like his old self. He began to be able to study again, to understand and to interact educationally. Watching him on this cannabinoid for nearly a year now, I have seen the original boy coming back. His eyes are brighter, less tired and exhausted, he is more confident.

I do not believe that medicinal cannabis should be used as a first resort but it should be used as a last resort. I acknowledge that there are mixed reviews among health professionals on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes and on that basis I would recommend including the provision that cannabis-based drugs should be prescribed only when other available medications have proven to be ineffective or inadequate to the therapeutic needs of the patient.

I also believe it is essential to clearly separate the medical use of cannabis as a drug delivered in a controlled dose from its recreational abuse through smoking. Smoking is shown to be one of the least reliable methods of administration for therapeutic purposes, as it has poor dosage control and a high number of pollutants. We do not want to end up with a situation, as in some states in the US, in which the use of therapeutic herbal cannabis-based preparations has created a largely unregulated market and encouraged abuse. Medicinal cannabis, like other controlled drugs, should only be available through a pharmacy. Medicinal cannabis has been legalised in over ten European countries, in Canada and Australia and in 30 US states. While I am giving my support to this Bill tonight, I want to make it clear that I in no way support the legalisation of recreational drugs. I would ask that these provisions be examined yearly and that the benefits and consequences of the provisions be evaluated. This legislation needs to be closely monitored and amended as necessary to ensure that its purpose is still valid and that it is not being abused.

I again reiterate what I said in my opening statement. I support this Bill. I grew up all of my life hearing that we lived in a caring country. Today, I listened to sufferers of cystic fibrosis. Tonight, we talk about legalising medicinal cannabis. Where is the caring in this society? There is none. This is essential legislation. There are people dying and suffering in this country. I have to commend people like Ms Vera Twomey and Mr. Paul Barry, who have travelled throughout the world to find a cure for their daughter, a cure that could be found and administered in this country. I congratulate these people and many more like them who have suffered far too long in their efforts to introduce medicinal cannabis in Ireland.

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