Case for medicinal cannabis shows why evidence matters

The Academy welcomes the recent announcement that the Home Secretary will reschedule cannabis-based medicinal products so that they can be made available for the patients that need them, and allow further research into their potential benefits and harms.

Following a review of the evidence of the potential medicinal benefits of cannabis-based medicines, they will be moved down from Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations. This means that they will be available for use in healthcare. Drugs that exist in Schedule 1 are deemed to have no, or very little, therapeutic potential and so are accordingly tightly restricted. This can impede medical research into their potential benefits as well as preventing healthcare use. The other Schedules below this recognise therapeutic benefit and so allow access for certain purposes such as healthcare, and better access for medical research, which is where cannabis-based medicines will now reside.

This illustrates the importance of an evidence-based approach in drugs legislation, to ensure that compounds with potential therapeutic benefit are available for both healthcare and life-saving medical research. Where robust evidence of medicinal benefit emerges for drugs, scheduling and access must be reviewed in the light of these benefits. We look forward to continuing to work with the wider research community and the Home Office and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to create a framework which facilitates access to compounds for healthcare and research, such as for the third generation synthetic cannabinoids as outlined in the Chief Medical Officer’s Review.

Key contacts


Mentoring Masterclass - April 2024

Book Now

Clinical Academics in Training Annual Conference 2024

Book Now

Mentoring Masterclass - June 2024

Book Now
View more
 
 
 
 
 
 
FB Twitter Instagram Youtube