Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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792. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the promised supply scheme for medical cannabis. [4081/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme is to facilitate compassionate access to cannabis for medical reasons, where conventional treatment has failed.

Ultimately it will be the decision of the medical consultant, in consultation with their patient, to prescribe a particular treatment, including a cannabis-based treatment, for a patient under their care.

Once suitable medical cannabis products are made available by suppliers, the Access Programme will make it possible for a medical consultant to prescribe a listed cannabis-based treatment for a patient under his or her care for the following medical conditions, where the patient has failed to respond to standard treatments:

- spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis

- intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy

-severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.

Currently four products have been added to the programme. Further products are currently being assessed and if assessed as acceptable, will be added to the schedule of products for future inclusion in the Programme.

Prescribers (medical consultants on the specialist register) will be able to prescribe cannabis for medical use to patients as set out in the legislation. It is important to understand that it will only be possible for specialist consultants to prescribe a specified controlled drug (medical cannabis products) under the Access Programme, once suppliers make these products available on the Irish market. Prescribers should also refer to the clinical guidelines prepared by the Expert Reference Group, available on the Department of Health Website. The Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme has been included in the HSE Service Plan 2021. The HSE will establish and maintain an electronic register for the Medical Cannabis Access Programme to facilitate the enrolment and recording of certain data including patient identifiers (in anonymised format), prescribers enrolled in the programme, as well as prescribed / supplied medical cannabis products. Registered patients will be able get their prescribed products from a community pharmacy.