Is cannabis legal in Ireland?

In 2019, Ireland launched its Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP), which allowed for patients suffering from specific conditions to access medical cannabis treatment. Previously, patients had only been able to access medical cannabis under ministerial licence, granted by the Minister of Health.

Patients can currently access medical cannabis through both pathways, however in practice, few patients are receiving medical cannabis treatment. The process for ministerial licence application is long and bureaucratic, while under MCAP the pool of eligible patients is limited, restricted to those suffering from three conditions: spasticity from multiple sclerosis, nausea from chemotherapy, and neuropathic pain. In both cases, doctors specialising in a relevant condition are required to prescribe.

Patients receiving treatment under MCAP are eligible for reimbursement if they qualify for a health card (a means-tested programme for public healthcare coverage), whereas those under ministerial licence have to pay for treatment fully.

Given the lack of medical cannabis treatment, products often have to be imported on a per-prescription basis, raising costs for patients further. Under MCAP, there is a list of approved extract-based products, while under ministerial licence the only products available are Bedrocan products, transformed into extract products by a magistral pharmacy in the Netherlands.