First licence granted to treat pain with cannabis

A licence for medicinal cannabis has been granted for the treatment of chronic pain for the first time. The move has been described by the medical profession as an “important development”.

The Department of Health approved a three-month licence for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the treatment of severe chronic pain.

It is the second time such a licence has been granted after Cork boy Tristan Forde, 3, who has a severe form of epilepsy, became the first person in Ireland legally allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, last year.