The UK needs an "immediate" clinical trial established of the benefits of medicinal cannabis for intractable childhood epilepsy, MPs have said.
A parliamentary report, published yesterday, finds that lack of evidence and lack of cooperation from producers, make it hard for doctors to prescribe cannabis – in spite of its recent legalisation.
High profile cases of childhood epilepsy were among the reasons for legalisation – but families have continued to complain they cannot get prescriptions in the UK.
The MPs on the health and social care committee say "very few" prescriptions have been issued.
They reveal that some manufacturers are refusing to submit their products for clinical trials – and calls for these producers to be "named and shamed."
The report says that cannabis should go through the same processes as other medicines. Products should have a licence and gain approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
An immediate trial of treatment of childhood epilepsy would ensure that families might not need to go abroad for treatment, the MPs say.
Committee chair Dr Sarah Wollaston said: “Although the recent changes to Government policy were welcomed, there was a failure to communicate what this would mean in practice for the availability of medicinal cannabis.
“Expectations were unfairly raised that these products would become widely and readily available, and there needs to be far clearer communication that this is not the case.
“However, recent changes to the scheduling do make it easier to conduct robust research into medicinal cannabis, which would build a stronger evidence base so that patients can weigh up any risks and benefits of treatment. At present there are too many gaps in the evidence to allow most forms of medicinal cannabis to be licensed for use and approved by NICE."
Leave a Reply