Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the outstanding work of Deputy Gino Kenny and People Before Profit in producing the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill and having it passed through Second Stage. Despite the caveats and reservations in the report on the scrutiny of the Bill - I listened carefully to Deputy Harty on that matter - and coming from the Department of Health and the Minister, the Bill should proceed straight to Committee Stage and any reasonable and necessary amendment should be tabled then or on Report Stage.

In his introductory speech on the Bill last December, Deputy Gino Kenny made a powerful case for its passage into law. In particular, he recalled the extraordinary campaign of Vera Twomey on behalf of her daughter Ava. I welcome Vera to the Public Gallery. The Deputy was heavily involved in that campaign. He also drew our attention to other harrowing medical situations, such as those of Marie Fleming and her husband Tom and of Mark Gaynor and his son Ronan. I recall Deputy Bríd Smith discussing the difficulty involved in treating Dravet syndrome during a later part of the debate.

Like many Deputies, I was struck by a report, entitled Cannabis: The Evidence for Medical Use, which was produced by Professor Michael Barnes and Dr. Jennifer Barnes in May 2016. It presented good evidence for one or more cannabis products or natural cannabis in the management of chronic pain, including neuropathic pain, spasticity, nausea and vomiting, particularly in the context of chemotherapy, and the management of anxiety. The report also outlined a graduated list of the successful use of medicinal cannabis for many other conditions.

I listened to Deputy Harty's caveats and reservations and his statement that the Bill should not proceed to Committee Stage, but the issues raised could be addressed. These are said to be "technical issues and implementation difficulties". I have read some of the committee's work. The claim that there is a "shortage of peer-reviewed evidence for the efficacy and safety of cannabinoid treatment for many conditions" does not seem to have a basis in fact, given the wide international experience and research to which I have alluded. The point that the committee makes about the cannabis regulatory authority has relevance. This House is always reluctant to create yet another quango or agency, but the remit of the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, could simply be extended, as Deputy Gino Kenny has argued in line with the German model, to include the regulation and research of medicinal cannabis treatment.

The scrutiny report also had difficulties with the proposed framework of the avenue to cannabis, but the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 clearly enunciate the responsibility of a registered medical practitioner in prescribing drugs that, in the future, could include medical cannabis.

I again wish to convey my support to Deputy Gino Kenny and his colleagues in People Before Profit for producing the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill. The Bill should proceed to Committee Stage and I am heartened by some of the comments that have been made during this debate. Any reasonable amendments on, for example, the caveats to which I have referred could be dealt with then or later in the House.

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