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Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Answer

The law was changed on 1 November 2018 to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s Specialist Register to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPM), where it is clinically appropriate and in the best interest of patients. Whilst the law allows clinicians to prescribe these products for the management of chronic pain, interim guidance jointly produced by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Radiologists, in liaison with the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, concludes that there is not yet robust evidence for the use of CBPM in chronic pain, and their use is currently not recommended.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been commissioned to develop updated clinical guidance on the prescribing of CBPM, including for the management of chronic pain, which will be published by October 2019. It will be based on the best available international evidence and will have been produced using NICE’s world-renowned process for identifying and assessing relevant studies and delivering such guidance. NICE is expected to consult on the draft guidance between 23 July – 20 August 2019.

An initial impact assessment Rescheduling of cannabis-based products for medicinal use under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 was published alongside The Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2018. A copy of this impact assessment is attached. This set out the approach that the Government proposed to take in assessing the costs and benefits of the change in the law at a population level, with regard to the rescheduling of CBPM. This framework included an analysis of cost and benefits for the use of cannabis for the management of chronic pain.

To further the evidence-base, the National Institute for Health Research has issued two calls for research in this area, and is working with the industry and researchers to ensure that the evidence is developed in a way that will inform decisions on public funding. This research will be open to all good quality proposals covering any indication, including multiple sclerosis, pain and other disorders unresponsive to existing treatments.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL16875

Session

2017-19

Attachment

Impact_Assessment

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Cannabis Medical treatments Multiple sclerosis Pain Research

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk