July 4, 2018

expert reaction to publishing of part 1 of the cannabis scheduling review and commissioning of part 2

Prof Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK government, has reviewed evidence for the therapeutic benefit of cannabis-based medicinal products.

Dr Adrian James, Registrar at the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: 

“We fully support a review that may lead to improved treatment for patients.

“Cannabis products for medicinal use that have been properly reviewed, and approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, can have significant health benefits.

“While it is for the Government and voters to decide if recreational cannabis should be legal, as mental health doctors we can say with absolute certainty that its use carries severe risks for some, including psychosis, depression and anxiety.”

Ian Hamilton, Lecturer in Mental Health, University of York, said:

“This is welcome news, particularly for the potential rescheduling of cannabis, as it will make research easier which is critical for the evidence base to develop. Most studies are based on small samples or of poor quality.”

Prof David Nutt, The Edmond J Safra Chair and Head of the Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, and founder of DrugScience, Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, said:

“At last!”

Dr Michael Bloomfield, Clinical Lecturer in General Psychiatry at UCL, said:

“We welcome the Home Secretary’s recommendation, which could help patients suffering from devastating illnesses and facilitate medical research into new potential treatments for a range of disorders.”

* https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cannabis-scheduling-review-part-1

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/cannabis/

Declared interests

None received.