UK doctors given green light to prescribe cannabis
Published 27 Jul 2018
London, July 26, 2018 (AFP) - British doctors will be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis, the government announced Thursday following a review -- but insisted it was not a first step towards legalising recreational use.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, the interior minister, decided to relax the laws about the circumstances in which specialist clinicians can give medicinal cannabis can be given to patients.
It follows several high-profile cases, including those of young epilepsy sufferers whose conditions appeared to be helped by cannabis oil.
"Making medicinal cannabis available on prescription will benefit the lives of ill patients currently suffering in silence," Javid wrote on Twitter.
"There is nothing harder than seeing your loved ones in pain -- which is why I have taken this decision."
Under the new rules, to be brought in later this year, senior doctors will be able to prescribe the medicines to patients deemed to have an exceptional clinical need.
Rapid review
Javid had commissioned a review on June 19.
An initial review by Sally Davies, the government's chief medical adviser, concluded there was evidence that medicinal cannabis had therapeutic benefits.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which conducted the second part of the review, last week said doctors should be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis provided products meet safety standards.
"Recent cases involving sick children made it clear to me that our position on cannabis-related medicinal products was not satisfactory," Javid said in a statement.
"That is why we launched a review and set up an expert panel to advise on licence applications in exceptional circumstances.
"Following advice from two sets of independent advisers, I have taken the decision to reschedule cannabis-derived medicinal products -- meaning they will be available on prescription.
"This will help patients with an exceptional clinical need, but is in no way a first step to the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use."
The Home Office interior ministry said in a statement that it was not proposing to change wider laws on cannabis.
"The government is clear that today's announcement does not pave the way towards legalising cannabis for recreational use.
The penalties for unauthorised supply and possession will remain unchanged," it said.
'Normal life' for epileptic boy
One of the recent cases in the public eye involved epilepsy sufferer Billy Caldwell, who turned 13 on Thursday.
His mother Charlotte Caldwell called the dramatic change "amazing".
She said her son could now "live a normal life" due to "the simple ability to now administer a couple of drops a day of a long-maligned but entirely effective natural medication".
Mike Penning, who co-chairs the recently-established cross-party Medical Cannabis Under Prescription parliamentary group, said the announcement brought hope to thousands of people.
He added: "Any move to restrict medical cannabis in the UK to a very narrow range of derived products, each requiring full pharmaceutical trials, thereby blocking out the many products available overseas, will lead to great disappointment and be a missed opportunity."
The Liberal Democrats, the fourth-biggest party in parliament, have long campaigned for liberalising cannabis laws.
"This is a very welcome and long overdue change," said health spokesman Norman Lamb.
"However, it is disappointing that the government has refused to commit to a wider review of the outdated and harmful laws around the recreational use of cannabis as well."
Doctor Tom Freeman, a senior academic fellow at King's College London university, said Javid's decision would have a "substantial impact on research by facilitating the development of safer and more effective medicines".
"Similar reviews are now warranted for other Schedule 1 drugs with potential medical value, such as MDMA and psilocybin," he added.
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Twitter27 comments
Pixierose I think maybe you should talk to your doctor, apparently they are that busy they would never get round to knowing what you need unless you physically talk to them about it
Thank you Jaycee 😊🙏🏼
I have fibromyalgia, chronic pain, arthritis in my spine and something not yet been looked at. Would this be classified as being able to have cbd oil in replacement of the opioid medications and Celebrex?
@Pixierose
Jaycee is right. You need to talk to your GP. They only prescribe but don't have the time to go into details as they have only 10 minutes per patient. You need to say to your GP that you have heard about the news on Media regards this drug being responsible for causing Heart attack and ask his/her view. My GP is a very caring GP and he informed and advised me to stop their medication. Not all GPs do the same. Do you have a family history of hear disease? Any ways, good luck to you.
@Pixier Hi I had been taking Celebrex or Arcoxia for a number of years Then out of the blue I became very ill with severe diarrhoea and vomiting. Within a week I was rushed into hospital with severe dehydration which impacted upon my kidney functions. If I hadn't been admitted that night I wouldn't of seen the following day. My inflammation markers were off the scale. Even after a week of many IV drips to replace all the nutrients, minerals etc my inflammation markers didn't improve at all. It took over 3 weeks to discover that the inflammation markers were so high because of the whole of my bowel system including my gut was covered in so many ulcers that the consultant who had carried out the scope thought that I had either Ulcerated Colitis or Chrons disease. A biopsy identified that the ulcers were caused by Arcoxia. The medication had been stopped as a precaution. Now I am never to take any medication for inflammation either pills or creams. A red flag is on my medical records also. I was so shocked that something that I had bee taking successfully for years for the treatment of arthritis could for no reason turn on my body and attach causing so much damage that I nearly lost my life, this is no exaggeration ask the poor young doctor who sat with me most of the night pumping fluids into me to ensure I got them in me quickly as my kidneys were 'as dry as prunes. I felt that I had to tell you @Pixierose as like you I thought these were relatively safe drugs. Ok, I realise that was unlucky and probably 1in1000 or so at risk but it happens!! Please discuss the risks with your GP.
