By Chris Williamson-
The use of medicinal cannabis in the UK is to be reviewed by the UK government, and could lead to more prescriptions of drugs made from the plant, according to the home secretary.
The decision to review cannabis for legal purposes was prompted by recent high-profile cases of children with severe epilepsy who were denied access to cannabis oil to control seizures. Home Secretary, Sajid Javid said the drug will remain banned for recreational use.
Speaking to the House of Commons, Mr Javid stressed the importance of a review on whether medical cannabis should be reviewed, but insisted that the drug would remain illegal for recreational purposes. He said the position “we find ourselves in currently is not satisfactory”.
Mr. Javid said the cases of Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell had made him conclude it was time to review the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Sajid also announced that six-year-old Alfie, who has a very rare form of epilepsy that causes up to 150 seizures per month, was being issued with a licence to receive cannabis-based drugs.
His family had originally applied to the government in April, saying his condition improved after using it in the Netherlands
The review would be held in two parts, Mr Javid told MPs. The first will make recommendations on which cannabis-based medicines might offer real medical and therapeutic benefits to patients.
In the second part, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will consider whether changes should be made to the classification of these products after assessing “the balance of harms and public health needs”.
He said: “If the review identifies significant medical benefits, then we do intend to reschedule.”
But he added: “This step is in no way a first step to the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. Last week, Billy Caldwell was handed back medical oil seized from him at Heathrow airport after he was admitted to hospital following intense seizures resulting from the absence of the cannabis oil.
His mother Charlotte, speaking after Mr Javid’s statement, said: “Common sense and the power of mothers and fathers of sick children has bust the political process wide open and is on the verge of changing thousands of lives by bringing our medicinal cannabis laws in line with many other countries.”
But she added that while it was a “clearly largely positive” announcement, “we still want to hear the details”.