Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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341. To ask the Minister for Health her plans for the regulation of cannabinoid products sold in shops around the State. [16274/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Cannabinoids are a diverse group of chemical compounds, primarily found in the cannabis plant, that interact with the body's endocannabinoid system. The most well known of these is the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol THC, a cannabinol derivative responsible for the high and is a schedule 1 drug and subject to the strictest level of control under the Misuse of Drugs legislative framework.

Cannabidiol, (CBD) is another cannabinoid, however it has no psychoactive effect and is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs legislative framework.

The Department of Health, through its role in the Early Warning network in relation to the appearance of new psychoactive substances, is aware of the rise in the illicit manufacture and use of synthetic cannabinoids. These substances go through layers of assessment of their threat to public health and whether there is either a medical or commercial use of the substance. If the substance has no uses and poses a danger to public health the normal process is that a decision is made to add the substance to the schedules of the International Drug Conventions which will then be reflected in a corresponding amendment to the Irish Misuse of Drugs legal framework.

In addition, under Section 3 of the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 it is an offence to sell psychoactive substances for human consumption.