What is Medical Cannabis?

Medical Cannabis refers to a group of cannabis based medicines used to treat the symptoms of several chronic conditions. These are often referred to as Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use (CBPM's). They are regulated in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

In order for a medicine to be considered to be a CBPM it must meet three criteria:

It is or contains cannabis in some forms
Is produced for human medicinal use
It is a medicine or a substance made to be used in the production of a medicine.

Medical Cannabis is an unlicensed medication. This means that the medicine does not have the same license as many other medications but can still be prescribed if your clinician thinks that it is the right medicine for you and if they can justify that clinical decision with evidence and assessment. Many medicines today are prescribed off license both in and out of the NHS.

Medical Cannabis is a CBPM that has been prescribed by an appropriate clinician is heavily regulated, grown and produced under strict guidelines, prescribed with a knowledge of the strength and percentage of the therapeutic compounds and monitored by a clinician for dosing and adjustments.

Medical Cannabis should only be used under prescription by an appropriate clinician.