NHS: Cannabis Petition, Government Response

Legalise Cannabis Alliance petition (UK), and government response: Response from UK Downing Street on petition (note the last paragraph) NHS-cannabis - petition reply 21 September 2007 We received a petition asking: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make cannabis/cannabis based drugs legal and available on NHS prescription to people suffering chronic pain and other ill health." *Details of Petition:* "Cannabis and cannabis based drugs are proven to be of great benefit to people suffering from chronic pain and illnesses such as cancer and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Canada, some US states and other countries. As the law currently stands, cannabis is illegal in the UK and cannot be prescribed on the NHS." * Read the petition * Petitions home page Read the Government's response: The Government has every sympathy for people who suffer from debilitating illnesses who cannot satisfactorily alleviate their symptoms through the use of existing medication. However, cannabis has a number of acute and chronic health effects and remains a controlled drug for good reasons. It is in this context that, on 27 May 2005, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal to allow the use of cannabis (in its raw form) for the relief of chronic pain. The Court took the view that necessity was no defence for using or supplying the drug. It dismissed appeals in six cases where people were given fines or suspended sentences after convictions for possessing or importing cannabis. The Court also took the view that the general prohibition on cannabis in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 showed that any benefits perceived or suggested for individual patients were regarded as outweighed by the detriment of allowing its use. The judges left open the possibility of an appeal to the House of Lords because of the public importance of the issue. Whilst the Government has no intention of legalising the use of cannabis in its raw form for medicinal purposes, it would be willing to legalise the scientifically established medicinal use of a medical preparation of the drug. Any decision to legalise such a product is subject to product approval being granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which will evaluate the safety, quality and effectiveness of all prospective medicines in the interests of public health. Sativex (Cannabis Sativa L.Extract) is an unlicensed medicine in the UK and a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, listed in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Previously, Sativex could only be prescribed by a doctor who had been granted the appropriate licence, and pharmacists could only stock and supply the product if they too had the appropriate licence. Guidance on this was issued by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) in the December 2005 issue of Community Pharmacy News. Since then, the Home Office has confirmed that it has issued an open general licence for the product which allows pharmacists to dispense the product as an unlicensed medicine under certain conditions. There is no longer the requirement for a prescribing doctor or dispensing pharmacist to contact the Home Office in relation to obtaining a licence to prescribe or supply Sativex. The Home Office has lifted the record-keeping requirements and pharmacists now do not need to record Sativex in their controlled drug registers. There are provisions for patients to obtain Sativex in the UK but it would be for the individual patient and their doctor to discuss and consider whether the use of Sativex is appropriate for their particular clinical need. The GP concerned would have to write out the prescription and the pharmacist would contact the manufacturer for a supply of Sativex. Prescription requirements for Sativex still apply whereby prescriptions must be written in the same way as they are for Schedule 2 drugs with prescriptions including the dose, form, strength and total quantity of the preparation in both words and figures. Sativex is still classified as a Schedule 1 controlled drug and will remain so until such time as it has been approved by the MHRA, at which point the Home Office anticipates that Sativex (but not cannabis) will be rescheduled as a Schedule 4 controlled drug. Unfortunately, the MHRA cannot provide information about the status of an application or when it can be expected. The Agency will only approve applications once it is satisfied that the product in question is of a suitable quality, is efficacious and safe, and has an appropriate risk/benefit for the patients and indications sought. There has always been provision in both UK and European legislation which allows doctors to prescribe an unlicensed medicinal product (for which they are personally responsible) specially prepared and for administration to a particular patient to meet a special clinical need.