More than a million self-medicating

AROUND 1.4 million adults could be selfmedicating with cannabis.

The estimate arose in a YouGov poll commissioned by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis as it emerged more than 500,000 plants were seized in England and Wales in 2020/21 - the highest number for nearly 10 years. The UK allows the sale of hemp products made only from the cannabis plant’s fibres or seeds - but not the buds. Since 2018, specialist doctors have been able to prescribe cannabisbased products for medical use where other treatments haven’t worked.

Cannabis remains a Class B drug. It is illegal to possess, distribute, sell or grow – with a maximum sentence of five years.

Prof Mike Barnes, chair of the Cannabis

Industry Council, said: “Legal cannabis is really only accessible via private clinics for a price unaffordable for many, particularly those on disability benefits. Then they’ll either source from the black market or grow their own. This indicates a desperate need to review cannabis regulation and accessibility on the NHS. These people aren’t criminals, they just want to be well.”