Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

696. To ask the Minister for Health the measures in progress to ensure that a full range of cannabidiol, CBD, products will be available to Irish consumers, including oils, pastes, flowers, teas and other products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8082/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

CBD-containing products or preparations that do not contain controlled substances that would bring it within the Misuse of Drugs framework are not controlled and can be sold or supplied as a food. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is responsible for coordinating the enforcement of food safety regulation in Ireland.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the competent authority for authorising medicinal products in Ireland. Its role is to ensure that only products that are safe, effective and of an appropriate quality based on clinical and scientific data can be authorised and supplied as medicines in Ireland.

The FSAI and the HPRA are aware that CBD products for oral consumption are available in Ireland and these are largely marketed as ‘food supplements’; ‘CBD oils’ and/or ‘Hemp oils’. As is the case for all food, they are not approved for medicinal use. This means the quality, safety and efficacy of such products have not been assessed under the long established EU requirements for the authorisation of medicines.

CBD products making unsubstantiated medical or food claims should not be placed on the market without authorisation, and they are not permitted for sale or supply.