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Written Question
Cannabis: Medical Treatments
Thursday 2nd December 2021

Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the risks of prescribing (a) medicinal cannabis and (b) treatments for drug addiction including methadone and diamorphine; and for what reasons prescription of medical cannabis is required to be prescribed by clinicians listed on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

The Department has not made a comparative assessment of the risks of prescribing medicinal cannabis versus methadone and diamorphine. Methadone and diamorphine are licensed medicines, whereas the vast majority of cannabis-based medicines are unlicensed, which means they have not been assessed for their safety, quality and efficacy by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Whilst the evidence-base remains limited, the decision to prescribe unlicensed products remains with specialist doctors who have expert knowledge and take responsibility for prescribing.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"I beg to move,

That this House believes the Government has failed to give full details of the process behind the issuing of emergency covid-19 contracts; and therefore calls on the Government immediately to commence the covid-19 public inquiry, announced by the Prime Minister on 12 May 2021.

There have …..."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"We really should not be playing political football—[Laughter.] I have to say, Mr Speaker, that says it all. [Laughter.] They should just keep going, because, friends, we are talking about people who are getting a serious illness, we are talking about people who are getting long covid, we are …..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"Last week, I raised an urgent question in this House on the misuse of covid funds—[Interruption.]..."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"Thank you, Mr Speaker. These are important matters and we need to be able to deal with them respectfully.

Last week, I asked an urgent question in this House regarding the misuse of covid funds for political campaigning. The Secretary of State ordered the use of a £560,000 emergency covid …..."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"Of course I would not wish to do so, Mr Speaker, but I am simply laying out the facts of the matter...."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"I will be generous to colleagues and the Prime Minister and for the purposes of this place I will respectfully do so.

The court cases highlighted that the covid contracts were not published on time, and poor records left big unknowns, such as why some companies won multi-million-pound contracts and …..."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"My hon. Friend is quite correct. There have been a number of occasions on which all the devolved Administrations have sought support from the UK Government for borrowing, and have been frustrated in that, but for friends of the UK Government, it is a case of “Come in, there are …..."
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"If the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine would like to stand up and defend what his Government have been doing, and Tory cronyism, he can be my guest...."
Ian Blackford - View Speech

View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 07 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry

"I am afraid to say that the lack of dignity in the Conservative Government is what is at stake here. The Scottish Government’s processes on procurement were open and transparent—that is the difference with what has taken place in this place.

Let me give a couple of other examples. A …..."
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View all Ian Blackford (SNP - Ross, Skye and Lochaber) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Contracts and Public Inquiry