I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 3220.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 3220.

There are no current plans to commission a review of the potential impact of cannabis decriminalisation and legalisation abroad on levels of crime and anti-social behaviour (‘ASB’) in the UK.

The Government recognises the clear scientific evidence of the harms of cannabis and has no plans to change the law. Cannabis is an addictive substance and is controlled as a Class B drug.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (‘ACMD’), the Government’s independent advisory body on drugs, has previously commented that the use of cannabis is a significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society. The ACMD considered the question of cannabis harms most recently in its 2018 contribution to the work on policy relating to cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

We are working closely with partners overseas in source and transit countries to stem the supply of drugs into the UK, as part of an overall approach including law enforcement activity, investment in drug treatment and recovery, and prevention to reduce demand, in order to minimise crime and ASB on our streets.

Cannabis-based products for medicinal use may be lawfully possessed where they have been prescribed by an appropriately qualified clinician. However, a prescription does not authorise the cultivation of cannabis.

Cannabis may only be cultivated under a Home Office licence. The Government has no plans to change the existing licensing arrangements to permit individuals to cultivate cannabis for their own prescribed use. Licences for the cultivation of high-THC cannabis may be issued for lawful purposes, including the production of pharmaceutical products, subject to compliance with the relevant medicines regulatory requirements.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.

Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.

The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.

The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

The commission issued to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on 2 June 2025 does not mention the cultivation of cannabis under section 6 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and it would therefore not be excluded providing it is relevant to the scope of the review.

The review is considering the impact of the 2018 legislative changes relating to cannabis-based products for medicinal use, including whether those changes had their intended impact, any unintended consequences, and recommendations to mitigate those consequences. The Advisory Council is independent of Government in the conduct of its work and the formulation of its advice.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.

Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.

The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.

The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.

Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.

The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.

The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

Licences to cultivate 'High THC' (tetra hydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant) are issued by the Home Office under Regulations 5 and 12 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. These licences are issued for a period of one year to a specific entity operating at a site.

The numbers of High THC Cultivation Licences issued each year between 2018 and 2026 (to 31 August) were as follows:

NB These figures do not include low THC 'industrial hemp' licences which are considered under a separate light touch licensing regime, also managed by the Home Office.

The fees payable for such licences are between £326 and £1,371 for repeat cultivators, depending on whether a site-based compliance visit is needed, and £4,700 for a first-time licensee.

Border Force has seized record amounts of drugs in recent years, including record quantities of cannabis. Information on Border Force drug seizures is published through the Government's drug seizure statistics and migration transparency data. Publicly available data show that Border Force seized approximately 205,022 kilograms of cannabis between January 2020 and March 2026. .https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2025/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2025

The Home Office does not hold verified statistics suitable for publication on the number of air passengers arrested for importing cannabis into the United Kingdom, broken down by age, sex, nationality or country of departure.

The Home Office also does not hold verified annual statistics suitable for publication on the quantity of cannabis seized specifically from air passengers in the format requested.

Border Force works relentlessly to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United Kingdom and continues to work closely with law enforcement, health services and international partners to disrupt criminal supply chains. The Government remains committed to tackling drug-related harm, including through prevention and enforcement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/migration-transparency-datahttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales

Border Force has seized record amounts of drugs in recent years, including record quantities of cannabis. Information on Border Force drug seizures is published through the Government's drug seizure statistics and migration transparency data. Publicly available data show that Border Force seized approximately 205,022 kilograms of cannabis between January 2020 and March 2026. .https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2025/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2025

The Home Office does not hold verified statistics suitable for publication on the number of air passengers arrested for importing cannabis into the United Kingdom, broken down by age, sex, nationality or country of departure.

The Home Office also does not hold verified annual statistics suitable for publication on the quantity of cannabis seized specifically from air passengers in the format requested.

Border Force works relentlessly to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United Kingdom and continues to work closely with law enforcement, health services and international partners to disrupt criminal supply chains. The Government remains committed to tackling drug-related harm, including through prevention and enforcement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/migration-transparency-datahttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales

The Department and the NHS Business Services Authority have not received a request from the General Medical Council for data relating to named services or individual prescribers of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. NHS England routinely liaises with relevant regulators and shares information to support the safe management and use of controlled drugs. In June 2026, NHS England met the General Medical Council to discuss prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use and subsequently shared information, including details of named medical prescribers.

NHS England has also provided information relating to Care Quality Commission-registered services to the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of health and social care services in England.

Unlicensed medicines, including unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans may be supplied, according to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed available medicines. The special need, clinical in nature, is determined by the prescriber responsible for the care of the individual patient. According to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the prescriber is a person who is a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, pharmacist independent prescriber, or supplementary prescriber.

Clinical-need justifications submitted during the course of notifications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to import unlicensed medicines is part of normal clinical practice, which is monitored by the relevant professional healthcare regulator and the royal colleges.

The Department and the NHS Business Services Authority have not received a request from the General Medical Council for data relating to named services or individual prescribers of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. NHS England routinely liaises with relevant regulators and shares information to support the safe management and use of controlled drugs. In June 2026, NHS England met the General Medical Council to discuss prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use and subsequently shared information, including details of named medical prescribers.

NHS England has also provided information relating to Care Quality Commission-registered services to the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of health and social care services in England.

Unlicensed medicines, including unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans may be supplied, according to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed available medicines. The special need, clinical in nature, is determined by the prescriber responsible for the care of the individual patient. According to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the prescriber is a person who is a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, pharmacist independent prescriber, or supplementary prescriber.

Clinical-need justifications submitted during the course of notifications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to import unlicensed medicines is part of normal clinical practice, which is monitored by the relevant professional healthcare regulator and the royal colleges.

The Government keeps the powers available to local authorities and other partners to tackle anti-social behaviour under regular review. We consider the current framework provides a broad and flexible toolkit to tackle to anti-social drug misuse.

It is unlawful to possess or supply controlled drugs without a Home Office licence, and we expect the police to enforce the law. As a Class B drug, the maximum penalty for possession of cannabis is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

The Government is taking a range of actions to tackle anti-social drug misuse, including cannabis. We are providing more visible, community-focused policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, supported by the Neighbourhood Policing Increase Grant, which will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood roles, and introducing Respect Orders to strengthen the powers available to police and other agencies. Every police force also now has a published anti-social behaviour plan and a dedicated lead.

The police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have a range of flexible powers to respond to anti-social behaviour, including drug misuse. These include the powers provided by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, such as the Closure Power, which can be used to shut down premises associated with nuisance or disorder. In addition, under section 17(1)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, police officers may enter a property without a warrant to arrest a person for an indictable offence where there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is on the premises.

The use of such powers is an operational matter for the police and must be exercised in a lawful, necessary and proportionate manner in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act Codes of Practice.

The Government keeps the powers available to local authorities and other partners to tackle anti-social behaviour under regular review. We consider the current framework provides a broad and flexible toolkit to tackle to anti-social drug misuse.

It is unlawful to possess or supply controlled drugs without a Home Office licence, and we expect the police to enforce the law. As a Class B drug, the maximum penalty for possession of cannabis is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

The Government is taking a range of actions to tackle anti-social drug misuse, including cannabis. We are providing more visible, community-focused policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, supported by the Neighbourhood Policing Increase Grant, which will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood roles, and introducing Respect Orders to strengthen the powers available to police and other agencies. Every police force also now has a published anti-social behaviour plan and a dedicated lead.

The police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have a range of flexible powers to respond to anti-social behaviour, including drug misuse. These include the powers provided by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, such as the Closure Power, which can be used to shut down premises associated with nuisance or disorder. In addition, under section 17(1)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, police officers may enter a property without a warrant to arrest a person for an indictable offence where there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is on the premises.

The use of such powers is an operational matter for the police and must be exercised in a lawful, necessary and proportionate manner in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act Codes of Practice.

In 2018, the law was changed to allow specialist doctors to prescribe unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. This allowed lawful access to these drugs, but did not change how medicines are accessed and funded on the National Health Service.

On the 2 June 2025, the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent expert body that advises the Government on drug-related issues, to review the effect of the 2018 law change, to look at whether it has had the desired impact and whether there are any unintended consequences. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.

The Government welcomes the input of clinical experts, such as the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service, in informing policy development.

The Refractory Epilepsy Specialised Clinical Advisory Service (RESCAS) is a United Kingdom-wide panel of specialist clinicians who provide a clinical advisory service hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital. The core membership of the RESCAS service is made up of consultant paediatric neurologists, specialist pharmacists, neuroradiologists, neurophysiologists, and genetics specialists.

The RESCAS service provides advice to other clinicians on complex cases of refractory, or drug-resistant, epilepsy. RESCAS supports decisions about treatment options, especially when cases are difficult or outside standard guidance, and provides advice on optimising epilepsy treatment, including the use of complex therapies including cannabinoids. It also provides advice about access to trials and emerging therapies.

The service supports clinical decision-making in situations where conventional treatment pathways have been exhausted, where evidence is limited or emerging, or where novel and non-standard therapies are under consideration. The RESCAS evidence base draws on multiple, complementary sources. These include national guidance and policy frameworks, such as National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and technology appraisals, NHS England commissioning policies, and relevant regulatory standards. In addition, the service incorporates professional consensus guidance, including specialist input from bodies such as the British Paediatric Neurology Association. This is further strengthened by scientific and clinical evidence, spanning published trials and research across anti-seizure medications, dietary therapies, surgical interventions, and novel or off-label treatments. Together, these components ensure that RESCAS advice reflects both current best practice and emerging developments in epilepsy care.

The Department and NHS England do not hold information on how many National Health Service prescriptions have been made available to children and young people with drug resistant epilepsy as a result of RESCAS advice.

The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.

Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.

The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.

The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.

Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.

The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.