Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the outcomes of observational trials of medical cannabis for children with severe epilepsy.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reviewed the best available evidence when developing its guideline on prescribing of cannabis-based medicinal products. However, NICE found that current research is limited and of low quality. Observational studies with a small number of patients do not produce results which are sufficiently robust to inform routine clinical or commissioning decisions. To develop evidence on medical cannabis, the Department, via the National Institute for Health Research, will be supporting two randomised controlled trials into epilepsy in adults and children. The trials will commence as soon as possible and results will be published once the trials have completed and the findings have been peer reviewed.