Developments in medical cannabis

Many patients are in need of medical cannabis, but the evidence base regarding its efficacy is sparse, and there are several barriers to break down before prescriptions can become mainstream (Robinson, 2019).

In April of this year, Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, was asked in the House of Commons by Sir Mike Penning, Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead, to ensure that medical cannabis is made available on prescription throughout England (Robinson, 2019).

The health secretary responded that he found it immensely frustrating that the drug is still not available to parents who feel it will benefit their children (Robinson, 2019). He has called upon NHS England for a ‘rapid evaluation to address barriers to clinically appropriate prescribing’ and has also asked the National Institute for Health Research to take action towards improving the evidence base (Robinson, 2019).