Home Office Responds to ACMD Recommendations

The Home Office (HO) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in a letter dated  11 Sep 2018.

The Government reiterated its intent to reschedule cannabis for medicinal purposes. The HO, DHSC and MHRA agree with all ACMD recommendations, but wish to redefine Cannabis Derived Medicinal Products (CDMPs) as a priority. This redefinition demands that channels of access are restricted and that CDMPs will be licensed after Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) marketing regulations. Otherwise, recommendations regarding providing quality assurance, disseminating coherent information to professionals and the public, developing evidence in CDMPs are all accepted. The emerging mechanisms will continually evolve.

Overall, the Government is committed to introducing CDMPs into the current medicines framework. We commend the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health: the speed of their action shows that they are very progressive and committed to bringing about change for those who need it most. But as a campaign, we want to ensure that all patients who could benefit from medical cannabis have the opportunity to do so. We are concerned that by restricting prescribing rights to specialists and not allowing GPs to prescribe, access will be unnecessarily limited.