Cannabis-based drugs should be made available as medication, the Fine Gael spokesman for health has said.
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Mr Gay Mitchell made his remarks following a statement by the British Department of Health that trials are under way in Britain to assess the use of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis and post-operative pain.
Mr Mitchell has called for the Irish Medicines Board to make cannabis-based medicines available here in line with Britain, provided the board is satisfied with their safe use.
"We should be able to distinguish between recreational drugs and medicine," Mr Mitchell told ireland.comtoday. "There are people who can suffer terribly with pain and if a prescribed medicine can relieve this pain, it should be available".
Mr Mitchell has raised the matter with the Minister for Health.
It is believed that doctors in Britain could be filling out prescriptions for cannabis-based, pain-killing drugs as early as 2004 if clinical trials prove a success, the British Department of Health said today.