Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has reviewed international evidence on the impact of legal cannabis markets on (a) healthcare costs and (b) service demand.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.
Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of legal cannabis regulation on the (a) workload and (b) costs associated with drug-related (i) policing, (ii) courts and (iii) prisons.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.
Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential (a) implications for his policies of international examples of state-run cannabis markets and (b) impact of those markets on (i) economic growth and (ii) public health.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government has no plans to legalise cannabis.
Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
The maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Asked by: Joani Reid (Labour - East Kilbride and Strathaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of Bedrocan oil.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bedrocan oils are a range of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. These products have not been assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for safety, quality, or efficacy, or assessed by National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for clinical and cost effectiveness.
Bedrocan, and other unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use, are available from independent providers across the United Kingdom, regulated by the Care Quality Commission. Unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use can only be prescribed by, or under the direction of, a clinician on the General Medical Council Specialist Register. Prescribers of unlicensed medicines have increase medico-legal responsibilities and are responsible for the quality and availability of the medicine prescribed.
These products are not routinely prescribed on the National Health Service, as clinical guidelines from the NICE demonstrate a clear need for further evidence on the safety and effectiveness of unlicensed cannabis-based medicines to support prescribing decisions.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has issued two calls for research proposals and a highlight notice on medicinal cannabis. Manufacturers, including those for Bedrocan oils, are responsible for generating evidence to support the use of these products and to seek regulatory approval. The Government encourages manufacturers to do so and offers scientific and research advice from the MHRA and the NIHR.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS prescriptions for cannabis-based products have been issued in Romford constituency in each year since 2018.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total number of cannabis-based medicines with a marketing authorisation, namely nabilone, sativex, and epidyolex, dispensed in the community in the North East London Integrated Care Board against a National Health Service prescription, each year from 2018 to 2024:
Calendar year | Number of prescription items |
2018 | 22 |
2019 | 27 |
2020 | 14 |
2021 | 30 |
2022 | 44 |
2023 | 61 |
2024 | 72 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority.
Data on unlicensed cannabis-based medicines is withheld in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulations, due to the number of items attributed to fewer than ten patients and the enhanced risk of release of patient identifiable information.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, What the average prison sentence is for cannabis possession offences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the average sentence for cannabis possession offences, from 2010 to 2024, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2024.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 adequacy of restrictions on the use of electronic prescriptions for the issuing of medicinal cannabis products.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rules around the electronic prescribing of cannabis-based medicines are no different to other drugs regulated in Schedule 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
In England, the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) enables the electronic transmission of prescriptions for Schedule 2 to 5 controlled drugs. As part of the robust system of governance and restrictions around the most addictive and harmful drugs, all private healthcare provider prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs cannot be transmitted by electronic means and must be issued on a paper FP10PCD prescription form. All paper copies of private prescriptions of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory duty to monitor the management and use of controlled drugs in the National Health Service and private healthcare.
Similar legislative and governance arrangements are in place in Northern Ireland concerning the management and use of controlled drugs. All private prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be issued on a paper PCD1 prescription form, which, once dispensed, are submitted to the Business Services Organisation, in line with requirements in the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2002. There is currently no electronic transmission of prescriptions in primary care in Northern Ireland.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not provide guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis. The MHRA provides guidance on manufacturing, importing, distributing, and supplying unlicensed medicines, which includes cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.
Current guidelines on the prescribing and use of cannabis-based medicinal products, specifically guideline NG144, are published on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website, which is available at the following link:
The guidelines have been endorsed by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland as applicable within Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence develops its guidance independently and keeps its published guidelines under active surveillance, so that it is able to update its recommendations in light of any significant new evidence.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 adequacy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Rules around the electronic prescribing of cannabis-based medicines are no different to other drugs regulated in Schedule 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
In England, the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) enables the electronic transmission of prescriptions for Schedule 2 to 5 controlled drugs. As part of the robust system of governance and restrictions around the most addictive and harmful drugs, all private healthcare provider prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs cannot be transmitted by electronic means and must be issued on a paper FP10PCD prescription form. All paper copies of private prescriptions of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory duty to monitor the management and use of controlled drugs in the National Health Service and private healthcare.
Similar legislative and governance arrangements are in place in Northern Ireland concerning the management and use of controlled drugs. All private prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be issued on a paper PCD1 prescription form, which, once dispensed, are submitted to the Business Services Organisation, in line with requirements in the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2002. There is currently no electronic transmission of prescriptions in primary care in Northern Ireland.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not provide guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis. The MHRA provides guidance on manufacturing, importing, distributing, and supplying unlicensed medicines, which includes cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.
Current guidelines on the prescribing and use of cannabis-based medicinal products, specifically guideline NG144, are published on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website, which is available at the following link:
The guidelines have been endorsed by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland as applicable within Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence develops its guidance independently and keeps its published guidelines under active surveillance, so that it is able to update its recommendations in light of any significant new evidence.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people received custodial sentences for personal possession of cannabis excluding people imprisoned for intent to supply, production, or importation in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders who received custodial sentences for possession of cannabis in the Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2023.
This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Sentence Outcomes’ tab and using the ‘Sentence Outcome’ filter to select immediate custody and the ‘HO Offence Code’ filter to select the following HO offence codes:
09261 - Having possession of a controlled drug - class B (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives)
09266 - Having possession of a controlled drug - class C (cannabis, including cannabis resin, cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives) – historic
Offence groups and offence types are continually revised to reflect offences accurately. However, it is important to note that data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, offences that have been repealed may still be used by court administration and appear in the data.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing electronic prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cannabis-based products for medicinal use are Schedule 2 controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Electronic prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs in National Health Service primary care settings has been operational since 2019.
Electronic prescriptions for controlled drugs in Schedules 2 and 3 must be sent using an advanced electronic signature and sent via the NHS Electronic Prescribing Service as part of enhanced security measures. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to enable similar systems in private healthcare to prescribe Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs.