Oral Answers to Questions

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that all Members across the House—it will have been obvious in response to his question—will want to join me in sending deepest sympathies to my hon. Friend’s constituent. As my hon. Friend will know, the courts can already, and do, consider harm caused to a mother or unborn child in sentencing for an offence. I know my hon. Friend has discussed changing the law on this particular issue with the Ministry of Justice, which is concerned that there could be far-reaching unintended consequences of doing so, but I have asked it to keep the law under review. I know that my hon. Friend, along with others in this House, will continue to work on this issue. I am sure everybody recognises the compassion that my hon. Friend is showing in raising this issue. What we want to ensure is that what he is proposing is not something that could lead to other, unintended consequences, of the sort that he would not wish to see.

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

Q3. Prime Minister, it has been brought to my attention that some children suffering from severe epilepsy have been able to greatly reduce, and in some cases end, their seizures if they have access to Bedrolite. Owing to the cumbersome and discriminatory system that this Government implemented on 1 November 2018, parents are required to travel abroad, pay thousands of pounds and break the law to bring medicine back, or to pay extraordinary prices to access Bedrolite privately in the UK. Rather than people having to fight for access on a case-by-case basis, will the Prime Minister apply some common sense, show a soupçon of compassion and do everything she can to make medical cannabis available to the many people who are suffering and to ensure that those who can benefit do?

[The Prime Minister]

I fully understand that these cases are desperately difficult, and my sympathies are with the families and friends. The Government did change the law, as the hon. Gentleman said, and specialist doctors on the General Medical Council specialist register can now prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use where there is clinical evidence of benefit. NHS England and the chief medical officer have made it clear that cannabis-based products can be prescribed for medicinal use in appropriate cases, but we must trust doctors to make clinical decisions in the best interests of patients.