How close is the UK to decriminalising cannabis?
By Cheung Wai Lam, Rainbow
A 5-year-old Scottish boy could finally go to school after given cannabis oil from a British biopharmaceutical company.
Murray had a drop seizure and split the back of his head open.
Karen Gray's son, Murray, suffers from Doose Syndrome / Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy, where he could have up to 600 myoclonic seizures a day, and on a bad day more than 12 tonic clonic seizures.
"He could actually die from a seizure, or from banging his head from a drop seizure," Karen said.
A video of one of the four types of seizures that Murray suffers from.
Murray could finally go to school with no seizures during the day, but a few at night.
GW Pharmaceuticals, which is a British company that creates cannabis-based medicine, gave Murray Epidiolex, an off-license medication, on compassionate grounds. Karen said that it has helped Murray reduced seizures in length, stopped the absences, myoclonic and drop seizures.
"Murray has been able to attend school for full days since starting the cannabis oil. He's definitely a lot happier now. Nothing worked before, he had tried everything, like ketamine and steroids. Cannabis oil is the only thing that worked," she added.
Previously, cannabis was classed as Schedule 1 drug, and patients can only access them with a special Home Office licence.
However, the British law changed on 1 November 2018 to allow specialist doctors to legally prescribe medicinal cannabis-derived products to some patients.
The change in law follows several high-profile cases, including two young boys with severe epilepsy, Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell, in which their conditions appeared to have been helped by cannabis oil.
The Regulations on
Cannabis-based
Products
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil and cannabis oil are two cannabis-based products, where cannabis oil often includes higher content of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency classed CBD as medicine in 2016, therefore, before the recent change in law, CBD with a maximum THC content of 0.2%, is legal in the UK and can be found in high street stores such as Holland and Barrett.
In Sheffield, there are also shops that sell different forms of CBD products, such as drinks, drops and sprays.
In Sheffield, there are also shops that sell different forms of CBD products, such as drinks, drops and sprays.
A report published by the World Health Organisation revealed that CBD has "been demonstrated as an effective treatment for epilepsy" and there is "preliminary evidence" that CBD may help treat symptoms such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), pain, anxiety, depression and cancer.
The UK is now one of the very few countries in the world that legalises medical use of cannabis.
Under the new regulation, cannabis-derived products can only be prescribed by specialist doctors not GPs.
The NHS released its prescriptions guidelines drawn up by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and British Paediatric Neurology Association (BPNA), which states that cannabis products should only be prescribed for conditions where there is proven benefits and where other treatment options have been exhausted.
The treatment can be provided in three specified conditions of,
Professor Mike Barnes, a consultant neurologist and consultant in rehabilitation medicine.
However, medicinal cannabis expert, Professor Mike Barnes said that there is actually no direct policy from the government that limits the conditions for which cannabis medicine can be prescribed.
Specialist doctors can prescribe cannabis-based products in any format except smoking, if they think it is in the best interest of their patients. Professor Barnes said:
"That's pretty liberal actually, but unfortunately, the Government then asked deeply conservative bodies like RCP and BPNA, to produce some recommendations, which makes doctors reluctant to prescribe these products. So, I don’t think it’s the politicians that’s letting the public down, I think it’s the doctors.
"Specialists will not prescribe the drugs because of RCP advice stating there's not enough indication for prescription in pain, which is just nonsense."
Despite being legalised, most medicinal cannabis-derived products are not licensed in the UK except Sativex, which is used to treat MS.
This means that specialists wishing to prescribe cannabis-based products would have to accept personal responsibility for risks for that prescription.
And, Professor Barnes added, doctors have been reluctant to prescribe as the BPNA has advised that non-licensed cannabis products should only be the last resort once the patient has tried everything including surgery.
Legal but unavailable for many...
People across the UK are still criminalised for consuming cannabis to treat their illnesses...
Lisa Andrews, 42-year-old, from Foxhill, Sheffield, was arrested in April this year for suspected cultivation of cannabis.
Lisa was born with Radical Dysplasia, that is hand and arm defects.
Lisa was born with Radical Dysplasia, that is hand and arm defects.
In 2017, Lisa was diagnosed with Moderate Heart Failure and Holt-Oram Syndrome. Further tests revealed that the reason for her heart failing is due to being born with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, a progressive illness with no cure.
Lisa's Cardiologists, Rheumatologists and Geneticists could not fully diagnose her, therefore, cannot treat or manage her symptoms via pharmaceutical medications.
Lisa said cannabis helps her with a range of serious conditions she suffers from, which includes heart problems, Raynaud's Phenomenon, hypertension, anxiety, depression, bad circulation and nausea.
But, even after the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, she is very unlikely to be prescribed with medicinal cannabis.
Is this a step towards recreational legalisation in the UK?
Canada becomes the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to legalise recreational use.
After the legalisation on medicinal cannabis, the UK Home Secretary, Sajid Javid quickly stresses that there will still be strict controls in place.
Calls for complete legalisation are growing among the public, only time will tell if the UK will legalise recreational use of cannabis.
