Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment on the potential merits of allowing the use of prescribed medical cannabis within NHS buildings.

National Health Service trusts have a duty of care to both staff and patients, as outlined in the NHS constitution, to ensure a safe working and care environment. This will include local policies concerning the use and administration of a patient’s own medicines.

The law was amended in 2018 to permit specialist doctors to prescribe unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. While smoking these medicines is banned, vaping and other forms of administration are not prohibited. Regardless of the form of administration, it is always advisable for patients to declare any medicines prescribed, whether on the NHS or privately, and discuss them with their clinical team upon admission.