Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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In Ireland, clinicians have two routes for access to medical cannabis-based products for their patients.

The Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP)

This is a 5-year pilot programme restricted to prescribing of cannabis-based products by medical consultants, for patients with certain medical conditions who have exhausted all other available medical treatment options. Those conditions are:

• Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis;
• Intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy;
• Severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.

However, as chronic pain due to arthritis is not listed as one of the three specified conditions, it is therefore not covered under the MCAP.

Ministerial Licence (under Section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977-2016):

For medical indications not included in the MCAP, doctors may utilise the Ministerial Licensing route to prescribe medical cannabis for their patients, should they wish to do so. In line with the Chief Medical Officer's advice, the granting of a licence for cannabis-based products for medical purposes must be premised on an appropriate application being submitted to the Department of Health, which is endorsed by a consultant who is responsible for the management of the patient and who is prepared to monitor the effects of the treatment over time. Further information can be found on the Department of Health website.

It is important to note that the medical decision to prescribe or not prescribe any treatment, including cannabis treatment, for an individual patient is strictly a decision for the treating clinician, in consultation with their patient. The Minister for Health/Department of Health has no role in this clinical decision-making process.