Information for Patients
MEDICINAL CANNABIS
On 1st November 2018 the UK Government announced plans to change the law to allow some cannabis-based medicines for medicinal use. NHS England have published an information page on their website which patients may find useful. Please note that the guidance has been written specifically around how medicines are accessed in England which does not directly apply in Scotland, however, the principles are the same.
This guidance highlights that just because medical cannabis can legally be prescribed, the decision to prescribe needs to be based on solid published clinical evidence and it is only likely to be used for a small number of people with specific conditions:
- Certain rare forms of epilepsy in children and young adults
- Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy
Other conditions, including use for pain, are not considered to have enough evidence of benefit at the moment and are not recommended. In addition, there are very few medicinal cannabis products which may be prescribed at the moment.