Campaigner Vera Twomey says the news has come as a “complete surprise”, and is a positive move – but clarity is needed on how exactly it will work.
Announced on Monday morning, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly shared that a delivery service of medical cannabis products for prescription patients is to be made permanent.
Prior to this, patients had to travel to The Netherlands to obtain their prescription.
The new service was originally created in April as a temporary fix for immunocompromised patients living in Ireland who could no longer travel due to the coronavirus.
Medical cannabis campaigner Vera Twomey’s daughter has Dravet’s Syndrome and has a licence to use the product. She was approved to use the treatment legally back in 2017 but had to travel to The Netherlands to fill out the prescription.
She explained: “When COVID struck, we were in a very difficult position. You couldn’t be doing anything more dangerous at that time than travelling on an aeroplane to an international hub, which Schipol is. And then to travel on trains or trams from there down to the pharmacy to collect the medication.
“So, we asked for something to be done about that situation. A temporary, emergency situation was put in place to have medication delivered while restrictions were put in place.”
