Cannabis plan joy of families in need of pain relief
medical cannabis he is now prescribed.
“As a family we were facing his death. Now we are facing his life, full of joy and hope, which is something I wish for each and every person in this country who could benefit from this medicine.”
Cannabis-based drugs will be offered by specialist doctors on a case-by-case basis, in situations where no other licensed products could meet the need.
The new law will not limit the types of conditions that can be considered for treatment and doctors will no longer need to seek approval from an expert panel in order for patients to access the medicines.
Among the campaigners who fought for this move was Ashington dad Paul Keeney, who started a petition for the legalisation of medical marijuana signed by close to 300,000 people.
Paul, whose battle with a rare penile cancer forced him to undergo six operations, is convinced cannabis oil could have helped him address pain and some symptoms – but would have previously been criminalised for seeking such treatment.
Paul welcomed the move, although he said there was further still to go. The campaigner believes the treatment could “revolutionise the medical world” but said he was concerned medical cannabis-producing companies would struggle to get their products registered quickly enough to be of immediate use to people who were suffering.
An initial review by chief medical adviser Dame Sally Davies concluded that there is evidence medicinal cannabis has therapeutic benefits.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which carried out the second part of the review, then said doctors should be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis provided products meet safety standards.
It recommended cannabis-derived medicinal products should be placed in Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Cannabis has previously been classed as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it was thought to have no therapeutic value but could be used for the purposes of research with a Home Office licence.
Mr Javid said that to constitute a cannabis-based product for medicinal use, three requirements must be satisfied.
These are that it “needs to be a preparation or product which contains cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabinol or a cannabinol derivative; it is produced for medicinal use in humans and; is a medicinal product, or a substance or preparation for use as an ingredient of, or in the production of an ingredient of, a medicinal product”.
Setting out the new regulations, Mr Javid added: “This brings these products explicitly into the existing medicines framework.
“These regulations are not an end in themselves. The ACMD will be conducting a long-term review of cannabis and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been commissioned to provide advice for clinicians by October next year.
“The Government will monitor the impact of the policy closely as the evidence-base develops and review when the ACMD provides its final advice.”