Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise an issue which I have brought up countless times and will continue to raise in this House until there is a satisfactory resolution. That is the issue of the lack of access to medicinal cannabis. The Taoiseach says there is a supply issue. We and other Deputies have a contrary view, which is that the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, is blocking the legislation on the medicinal cannabis programme for bureaucratic and security reasons. This is imperative because while we might have time, the countless people for whom medicinal cannabis has a medical benefit do not have time on their side. It is imperative that the Government comes out with a statement about when the medical access programme will be up and running. It has been two years and the wider public is asking for answers. I am asking the Taoiseach as leader of his party and of this country if he will give a timeframe for when the medical access programme will be running.

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