Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Government’s response of 5 November 2015 to the e-petition, We demand the British Government reschedule cannabis, and to section 1.5.23 of Management of Multiple Sclerosis in Adults, whether the NHS plans to prescribe Sativex for multiple sclerosis-induced spasticity.
George Freeman
Cannabis and its preparations are Class B controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Cannabis is also subject to international drug control under United Nations Conventions. In the United Kingdom, it is illegal to produce, possess, supply, import and export cannabis except under Home Office licence. Apart from the drug Sativex, which is derived from cannabis, the UK does not recognise herbal cannabis as having any medicinal use.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the management of multiple sclerosis in October 2014 that does not recommend Sativex, a cannabis-derived treatment, as a cost effective use of National Health Service resources. NICE’s guideline on multiple sclerosis is published at:
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