Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do not know why the Minister is shaking his head. He should read the Barnes report and stop interrupting me. He spoke earlier and will have more time to respond.

Witnesses at the committee stated the strongest evidence in respect of medicinal cannabis was on pain. The joint committee's report states that pain is complex, which is correct. However, we do not mind allowing opiates to be prescribed when there is widespread opiate addiction caused by opiate based painkillers and benzodiazepines. We can regulate these products with the complexities of pain but cannot do so with medicinal cannabis, even though all the evidence shows that opiates are much more dangerous than medicinal cannabis.

There is no evidence to back up the statement that there would be leakage to recreational use. Professor Barnes and Dr. Ó Súilleabháin stated that no evidence of increased recreational use of cannabis or increased problems relating to cannabis has emerged. Specifically, there is no evidence of diversion of medicinal products to the illicit market. As in Ireland, illicit cannabis is so widely available in the countries in question as to make diversion insignificant. We have diversion with prescription painkillers, yet the Minister has not banned them. We have diversion of opiate based drugs, even though their use is not based on the prescriptions given. The Minister has not banned those drugs or argued that they cannot be regulated, as he has argued in the case of cannabis, despite the absence of any supporting evidence.

Why can Germany, the Netherlands and a number of US states do what is proposed in the Bill? The problem with the HPRA regulating this issue - this concern was raised by Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil - was that its compassionate access programme did not provide access. Other countries abandoned their access programmes and introduced laws similar to what we have proposed. They dealt with the issue by having their version medicinal products regulatory authorities establish a new subdivision to deal specifically with cannabis. We are open to an amendment providing for such a change. This could be easily achieved on Committee Stage if there was a will to do so. If this Bill is not the vehicle for doing so, it will be two years before we have another Bill on this issue, on which we have spent a year already.

Vera Twomey collapsed with stress outside the House and her daughter is in Holland. It is disgraceful that thousands of people will be left out in the cold. The alternative is to work together as parliamentarians and progress the Bill. Professor Mike Barnes and representatives of the IMO will come to the House next week.

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