Medical cannabis in the UK: from principle to practice
Medical cannabis in the UK: from principle to practice
Background: In the UK, medical cannabis was approved in November 2018, leading many patients to believe that the medicine would now be available on the NHS. Yet, to date, there have been only 12 NHS prescriptions and less than 60 prescriptions in total. In marked contrast, a recent patient survey by the Centre for Medical Cannabis (Couch, 2020) found 1.4 m people are using illicit cannabis for medical problems. Aims: Such a mismatch between demand and supply is rare in medicine. This article outlines some of the current controversies about medical cannabis that underpin this disparity, beginning by contrasting current medical evidence from research studies with patient-reported outcomes. Outcomes: Although definite scientific evidence is scarce for most conditions, there is significant patient demand for access to medical cannabis. This disparity poses a challenge for prescribers, and there are many concerns of physicians when deciding if, and how, to prescribe medical cannabis which still need to be addressed. Potential solutions are outlined as to how the medical profession and regulators could respond to the strong demand from patients and families for access to medical cannabis to treat chronic illnesses when there is often a limited scientific evidence base on whether and how to use it in many of these conditions. Conclusions: There is a need to maximise both clinical research and patient benefit, in a safe, cautious and ethical manner, so that those patients for whom cannabis is shown to be effective can access it. We hope our discussion and outlines for future progress offer a contribution to this process.
Cannabis,, cannabidiol,, d9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9THC), cannabidiol, patient, medical cannabis,, patient
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Schlag, Anne
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Baldwin, David
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Barnes, Michael
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Bazire, Steve
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Coathup, Rachel
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Curran, Val
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McShane, Rupert
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Phillips, Larry
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Singh, Ilina
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Nutt, David J.
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1 September 2020
Schlag, Anne
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Baldwin, David
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Barnes, Michael
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Bazire, Steve
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Coathup, Rachel
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Curran, Val
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McShane, Rupert
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Phillips, Larry
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Singh, Ilina
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Nutt, David J.
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Schlag, Anne, Baldwin, David, Barnes, Michael, Bazire, Steve, Coathup, Rachel, Curran, Val, McShane, Rupert, Phillips, Larry, Singh, Ilina and Nutt, David J.
(2020)
Medical cannabis in the UK: from principle to practice.
Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34 (9), .
(doi:10.1177/0269881120926677).
Abstract
Background: In the UK, medical cannabis was approved in November 2018, leading many patients to believe that the medicine would now be available on the NHS. Yet, to date, there have been only 12 NHS prescriptions and less than 60 prescriptions in total. In marked contrast, a recent patient survey by the Centre for Medical Cannabis (Couch, 2020) found 1.4 m people are using illicit cannabis for medical problems. Aims: Such a mismatch between demand and supply is rare in medicine. This article outlines some of the current controversies about medical cannabis that underpin this disparity, beginning by contrasting current medical evidence from research studies with patient-reported outcomes. Outcomes: Although definite scientific evidence is scarce for most conditions, there is significant patient demand for access to medical cannabis. This disparity poses a challenge for prescribers, and there are many concerns of physicians when deciding if, and how, to prescribe medical cannabis which still need to be addressed. Potential solutions are outlined as to how the medical profession and regulators could respond to the strong demand from patients and families for access to medical cannabis to treat chronic illnesses when there is often a limited scientific evidence base on whether and how to use it in many of these conditions. Conclusions: There is a need to maximise both clinical research and patient benefit, in a safe, cautious and ethical manner, so that those patients for whom cannabis is shown to be effective can access it. We hope our discussion and outlines for future progress offer a contribution to this process.
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Medical cannabis in the UK_revised_clean
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Accepted/In Press date: 27 February 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 June 2020
Published date: 1 September 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This article was produced with support from Drug Science (DrugScience.org.uk)
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
Keywords:
Cannabis,, cannabidiol,, d9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (d9THC), cannabidiol, patient, medical cannabis,, patient
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Local EPrints ID: 438412
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438412
ISSN: 0269-8811
PURE UUID: 90c08c68-b0c7-4834-8b7a-5129bca8168a
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Date deposited: 09 Mar 2020 17:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:41
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Author:
Anne Schlag
Author:
Michael Barnes
Author:
Steve Bazire
Author:
Rachel Coathup
Author:
Val Curran
Author:
Rupert McShane
Author:
Larry Phillips
Author:
Ilina Singh
Author:
David J. Nutt
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