Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
No consultant has applied for a license to use medicinal cannabis to treat a patient, Health Minister Simon Harris has confirmed, Evelyn Ring.
"I know there are difficult cases out there and I know that, at a human level, our hearts would go out to anybody in a difficult case," said Mr Harris.
"If a consultant in this country believes that any person, be they a child or adult, requires a substance that is not a legal medicine, they can seek a license from my department."
However, he said yesterday, "as of now", there was no application pending in his office for a license to use medicinal cannabis.
"I have no such application. If I had such an application, it would be absolutely processed expeditiously."
Mr Harris said he was the first minister for health to commission a policy review about medicinal cannabis. He asked the Health Products Regulatory Authority to look at the evidence for legalizing cannabis for certain medical conditions.
When the HPRA reported back to him in January, it recommended the prescribing of medicinal cannabis for patients with specific medical conditions. The conditions are spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, intractable nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, and severe forms of epilepsy.
The report states that the scientific evidence supporting the safe and effective use of cannabis products for medical treatment was "insufficient and at times conflicting".
The medicines authority believes having a controlled access program that is confined to specific conditions will be "a significant first step that recognizes patient need" while providing patient protection through medical consultant oversight.
Mr Harris accepted all of the authority's recommendations and established a clinical group to develop an access program. The group is due to report to the minister shortly. The plans received a broad welcome, but some campaigners called for the access program to be expanded to include other conditions, especially chronic pain.
Mr Harris stressed that even when a compassionate access program was operational later this year, medicinal cannabis would only be available to a patient when a consultant believes it should be.
"I am not making decisions about what medicine, authorized or otherwise, should be put into the body of any Irish citizen. That is a decision for a doctor."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Consultants yet to seek licences for cannabis treatments | Irish Examiner
Contact: Contact Us| Irish Examiner
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Website: Irish Examiner | Irish Examiner
"I know there are difficult cases out there and I know that, at a human level, our hearts would go out to anybody in a difficult case," said Mr Harris.
"If a consultant in this country believes that any person, be they a child or adult, requires a substance that is not a legal medicine, they can seek a license from my department."
However, he said yesterday, "as of now", there was no application pending in his office for a license to use medicinal cannabis.
"I have no such application. If I had such an application, it would be absolutely processed expeditiously."
Mr Harris said he was the first minister for health to commission a policy review about medicinal cannabis. He asked the Health Products Regulatory Authority to look at the evidence for legalizing cannabis for certain medical conditions.
When the HPRA reported back to him in January, it recommended the prescribing of medicinal cannabis for patients with specific medical conditions. The conditions are spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, intractable nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, and severe forms of epilepsy.
The report states that the scientific evidence supporting the safe and effective use of cannabis products for medical treatment was "insufficient and at times conflicting".
The medicines authority believes having a controlled access program that is confined to specific conditions will be "a significant first step that recognizes patient need" while providing patient protection through medical consultant oversight.
Mr Harris accepted all of the authority's recommendations and established a clinical group to develop an access program. The group is due to report to the minister shortly. The plans received a broad welcome, but some campaigners called for the access program to be expanded to include other conditions, especially chronic pain.
Mr Harris stressed that even when a compassionate access program was operational later this year, medicinal cannabis would only be available to a patient when a consultant believes it should be.
"I am not making decisions about what medicine, authorized or otherwise, should be put into the body of any Irish citizen. That is a decision for a doctor."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Consultants yet to seek licences for cannabis treatments | Irish Examiner
Contact: Contact Us| Irish Examiner
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Website: Irish Examiner | Irish Examiner
