Medicinal cannabis products to be legalised

Status
Not open for further replies.
Northerner

Northerner

Admin (Retired)
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Specialist doctors in the UK will be able to legally prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products by autumn, the home secretary has announced.

Those that meet safety and quality standards are to be made legal for patients with an "exceptional clinical need", Sajid Javid said.

As it is a devolved matter, it will require legislative change before it is enforced in Northern Ireland.

Legalisation follows high-profile cases involving severely epileptic children.

Many had previously been denied access to cannabis oil.

Others forms of cannabis will remain illegal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44968386
 
hippy.gif


Good on the mother who took on the authorities and stood her ground for her son.
 
The more enterprising folk have been using this for ages. All they have to do now is admit it to their doctors, who will then prescribe it. Not.

You can be sure there will be multiple hoops to jump through before a prescription is allowed - for instance, for all standard medications to have failed. It certainly will not be allowed as first line treatment, even though it is by far the safest drug to use in epilepsy. The same applies to MS, Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions. Plus diabetic neuropathy.

That will be the problem- the number of conditions for which this can be officially prescribed, with all other uses “off licence”. Or illegal. It will necessarily have the same status as Diamorphine or Fentanyl, because of the stupid way the Home Office classify drugs.
 
mikeyB said:
The more enterprising folk have been using this for ages. All they have to do now is admit it to their doctors, who will then prescribe it. Not.

You can be sure there will be multiple hoops to jump through before a prescription is allowed - for instance, for all standard medications to have failed. It certainly will not be allowed as first line treatment, even though it is by far the safest drug to use in epilepsy. The same applies to MS, Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions. Plus diabetic neuropathy.

That will be the problem- the number of conditions for which this can be officially prescribed, with all other uses “off licence”. Or illegal. It will necessarily have the same status as Diamorphine or Fentanyl, because of the stupid way the Home Office classify drugs.
Click to expand...

Yes precisely the conversation I’ve had elsewhere Mike. Cost will be a major issue because medicinal cannabis is ridiculously expensive and will only be given as a last resort.
 
But it isn’t expensive, that’s the thing. You don’t consume it by the pint, just a few drops. A 10ml bottle lasts me weeks. It’s a sight cheaper than self funding a Libre. I’m sure the NHS can negotiate a good deal, if they are minded.
 
mikeyB said:
But it isn’t expensive, that’s the thing. You don’t consume it by the pint, just a few drops. A 10ml bottle lasts me weeks. It’s a sight cheaper than self funding a Libre. I’m sure the NHS can negotiate a good deal, if they are minded.
Click to expand...

In 2014 NICE dismissed medicinal cannabis as not being cost effective. It’s ridiculously expensive to the NHS so negotiations will need to be done. This is what they said at the time.

"Sativex costs £50,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), while fampridine costs in the region of £160,000 per QALY.

"Both are well above NICE’s threshold of £30,000 per QALY."

They do calculations on whether you’re worth saving and at what cost! 🙄
 
But cannabis is used for exactly that reason - quality of life. It doesn’t extend life, it’s symptomatic relief.

And Sativex is not the only game in town, now the leash is off. The cost will plummet, there’s a whole industry tooled up and waiting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top