A Guide to medical cannabis in Ireland
After our recent announcement, as the first medical cannabis clinic in Ireland, we have put together a guide for accessing medicinal cannabis in Ireland.
What are the routes for accessing Medical Cannabis in Ireland?
- There are two routes for accessing medicinal cannabis in Ireland:
- Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP)
- Ministerial Licence
- Medicann process for eligibility and access
Before your first consultation, you will need to answer a series of eligibility questions. If those answers indicate that there is a good chance that you could be eligible for treatment with Medicinal Cannabis then you will be scheduled for a consultation with one of our specialist doctors.
At this consultation, the Doctor will establish your eligibility for treatment with medicinal cannabis. The doctor then presents your case to a multi-disciplinary team of specialists who are experts in the condition you want to be treated.
At this point, the MDT team and your prescribing Doctor will look at the best medication for your condition and process either your application on MCAP or your application for Ministerial License. Medicann will follow the process to its conclusion and once your application is approved your prescription will be written for your medication.
What conditions qualify for medicinal cannabis under MCAP?
The following medical conditions may be eligible under the MCAP programme:
- Multiple Sclerosis
- CINV
- Epilepsy
What conditions qualify for medicinal cannabis treatment under a Ministerial Licence?
There is not a definitive list however, the Ministerial licence should be available for the following:
- Pain
- Certain Psychiatric conditions like (PTSD, Anxiety, Depression and insomnia)
- Neurology (Alzheimer’s, epilepsy MS MND Parkinson’s and chronic fatigue)
- Gastroenterology
- Oncology
- Palliative Care
How do I know if I qualify?
If you want to check if you may be eligible for treatment with medicinal cannabis in Ireland. Complete the registration form to check your eligibility.
Only patients with one of the following medical conditions can apply for funding:
spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis resistant to all standard therapies
intractable nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, despite the use of standard anti-emetic regimens
severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy that has failed to respond to standard anticonvulsant medications
These conditions must be verified by your treating hospital consultant.
How long does a ministerial licence last?
A ministerial licence lasts for 12 months and allows Medicann to prescribe for the condition for a year.
How long will I need to wait for my first appointment?
After you have registered your additional details, if there is a good chance that you could be eligible for treatment, we will send you a patient consent form to sign and we will then be able to gather your medical records. Once your Medical records have been requested (this can take up to 28 days to receive your medical records from your GP. It’s then in your GPs hands in our experience it can be far quicker if you can obtain these yourself and email them into ireland@medicann.co.uk), your medical records will be reviewed by our specialist Doctors and if you are likely to be eligible for treatment with medicinal cannabis we will contact you and book you in for your consultation. We anticipate to start seeing patients early 2024. During your first consultation, we will confirm if you should go down the MCAP route or a Ministerial License, and our team will support you with the application process and throughout your medicinal cannabis treatment.
Is there a queue of patients?
Since our announcement, we have been inundated with people wishing to register but we want to assure you we are here to support you on your medicinal cannabis journey. In order to complete your registration process, please click on the link below so that we can understand more about your condition and potential eligibility.
To become a patient of Medicann Ireland, follow the link below.
