Medical cannabis should be legalised, MPs say

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform has urged the government to legalise the use of cannabis for medical reasons.

The group has argued that there is clear evidence cannabis could have a therapeutic role for some conditions, and that tens of thousands of people in the UK already break the law in order to use the drug for relief of their symptoms.

The All Party Parliamentary Group believes the Home Office should reclassify herbal cannabis under existing drug laws, from schedule one to schedule four.

A schedule four rating would place the drug in the same category as steroids and sedatives, which would mean doctors could prescribe cannabis to patients, allowing chemists to dispense it and also potentially enabling patients to grow limited amounts of cannabis for their own consumption.

People with multiple sclerosis can already legally treat their symptoms with a cannabis-based medicine, Sativex, which contains THC and CBD, chemicals derived from the cannabis plant.

However, the NHS has warned that the drug carries a number of risks, including: impairing the ability to drive; causing harm to lungs if smoked; and harm to mental health; fertility; or unborn babies.

In gathering evidence for its drive to legalise medicinal use of the drug, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform compiled proof from from 623 patients, representatives of the medical professions and people with knowledge of how medical cannabis was regulated across the world.

Co-chair Baroness Molly Meacher commented: "Cannabis works as a medicine for a number of medical conditions. The evidence has been strong enough to persuade a growing number of countries and US states to legalise access to medical cannabis.

"Against this background, the UK scheduling of cannabis as a substance that has no medical value is irrational."

However, a spokesman for the Home Office said: "There is a substantial body of scientific and medical evidence to show that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health.

"It is important that medicines are thoroughly trialled to ensure they meet rigorous standards before being placed on the market.

"There is a clear regime in place, administered by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, to enable medicines, including those containing controlled drugs, to be developed."