418. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if a product approved under the MCAP as listed on S.I. No. 5 of 2023 can be prescribed to the holder of a valid Ministerial licence and if the licence holder can purchase their prescribed products at a pharmacy in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11435/24]

Minister for Health: A Ministerial Licence issued pursuant to Section 14 for the Misuse of Drugs entitles the clinician licencee to prescribe, import, supply , possess and administer a cannabis-based product containing Tetrahydrocannabinol.

The decision on what to prescribe is a clinical decision in which neither the Minister for Health nor the Department of Health has a role.

As the products are Schedule 1 controlled drugs in the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 the necessary licences must be in place under the Misuse of Drugs Act, other than for the prescribing clinicians, for possession and supply of the prescribed cannabis-based products by other stakeholders such as wholesalers and pharmacists.