Medical cannabis “should not be Home Office issue”, says CIC
Responsibility for all medical cannabis policy and regulation should sit with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), according to the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC).
In a submission to the Government’s Change NHS consultation, the CIC has urged for Home Office powers on licensing, importation, research, and scheduling to be transferred to the DHSC.
Additionally, the CIC has called for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to be co-sponsored by the the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with DHSC the sponsor for any and all medical cannabis matters.
The CIC also made a series of further proposals to the Government, including:
- Allow and enable the electronic prescribing of cannabis medicines, both from a legal and technical (NHS Digital) standpoint.
- Implement a number of the recent ACMD recommendations for improving the licensing and research regime for controlled substances.
- Put an end to the postcode lottery, where many NHS Foundation Trusts routinely fail to prescribe licensed cannabis medicines to patients.
- Provide a clear pathway for patients to access private prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis medicines from NHS consultations (including for chronic pain).
- Increase NHS reimbursement of private prescriptions of cannabis medicines for certain indications.
- Allow GPs to initiate prescriptions of unlicensed cannabis medicines.
- Recognise real-world evidence in the licensing of botanical medicines, where there is sufficient and compelling data.
Cannabis Industry Council Co-Chairs Dr Callie Seaman and Jamie Bartley commented:
“The Cannabis Industry Council welcomes the Government’s decision to engage widely on reforming the NHS in England. We hope our proposals on medical cannabis policy and regulation can contribute to improved patient outcomes.
“Notably, the CIC believes that medical cannabis should not be a Home Office matter. Instead, the Department of Health should oversee all matters relating to medical cannabis, in order to ensure patient care is put at the forefront of decision-making.”
The Government is running a public consultation called Change NHS, which they say will contribute to their planned ’10 Year Health Plan for England’.
The deadline for responding to the Change NHS consultation is 2 December. Organisations can offer their views here – https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/folders/organisations
