Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2022 to Question 135976 on Fibromylagia, what research he has undertaken to assess the effectiveness of cannabis-based products to manage chronic pain in adults.

The Department has made no such assessment. Clinical guidelines from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend that cannabis-based products for medicinal use are not offered to manage chronic pain in adults and that cannabidiol (CBD) only be offered as part of a clinical trial. The NICE recognises the lack of evidence to support the use of these medicines and recommends that further research is carried out on the clinical and cost effectiveness of CBD as an add-on treatment for adults with fibromyalgia or for persistent treatment resistant neuropathic pain.

As for all other medicines, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to generate the evidence required for assessment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE. The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research from industry and academia into any aspect of human health, including chronic pain.