A protest will take place outside the Department of Health today calling for increased access to medicinal cannabis for chronic pain patients.
Campaigners say the Medical Cannabis Access Programme should be expanded to include those who suffer from painful symptoms every day.
Patients looking for relief currently pay up to €1,000 a month because it's not covered by the medical card.
Cork woman Alicia Maher moved to Spain so she could have better access to the drug.
She explains the impact it's had on her.
"I only started using medicinal cannabis only 3 years ago and before that, I was taking 900 painkillers every month and needed surgery on my back every four months.
"Since I started cannabis, I've come off the medication so from 900 tablets to zero and I haven't had a single procedure on my back."
