The Department of Health is planning to make cannabis-containing products available to people suffering from certain serious medical conditions.

Minister of State at the Department of Health Kathleen Lynch, in a Dail reply, said her Department was examining the issues associated with allowing cannabis-containing products to be used under controlled circumstances for patients with specific conditions, in the same way as otherwise illegal drugs such as morphine and methadone are currently used.

As the law currently stands, it is not possible for cannabis-based medicinal products, such as the drug Sativex, to be prescribed by doctors in Ireland.

The Minister said she was aware that claims had been made about possible health benefits of cannabis-based products for patients suffering from certain conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

Sativex is already authorised in the UK for the relief of spasm in patients with MS.