Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that medicinal cannabis is made available on the NHS as swiftly as possible.

In November 2018, the law changed to allow doctors on the General Medical Council’s Specialist Register to prescribe cannabis-based product for medicinal use (CBPMs). Since then, two CBPMs - Sativex and Epidyolex have been made available for prescribing on the National Health Service, where clinically appropriate. This follows clear demonstrated evidence of their safety and clinical and cost effectiveness.

There remain concerns over the clinical and cost effectiveness of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. To help further the evidence base, significant progress has been made to support two randomised controlled trials into early onset and genetic generalised epilepsy and to establish a national patient registry. We are also considering what further action the Government might take to widen access to unlicensed cannabis-based products.