New guidance on medicinal cannabis
Monday April 8th, 2019
New guidance for doctors will help them distinguish between different kinds of medicinal cannabis and decide which patients will benefit, it has been announced.
The guidance was published by The BMJ amid the fall-out from the legalising of medicinal cannabis
in the UK last year. Campaigners have accused NHS doctors of being reluctant to prescribe the
substance – and chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies, who originally backed
legalisation, has pointed to a shortage of clinical evidence.
The review, compiled by specialists at Bath University and University College, London, distinguishes between THC, the drug's main psychoactive element, and CBD, the non-intoxicating element.
It says that some studies have found chronic pain can be treated with combinations of THC and CBD – while CBD may help treatment-resistant epilepsy.
THC might be effective in tackling chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, they say.
Dr Tom Freeman, of the addiction and mental health team at Bath, said: "In this complex and rapidly evolving field, there are several different cannabis-based and cannabinoid medicinal products. These differ in their THC and CBD content, who can prescribe them, and the conditions they may be used to treat. Here we provide an update for clinicians in advance of forthcoming NICE guidelines.
"A key message is that CBD products widely sold on-line and in health food shops lack quality standards and should not be treated as medicinal products."
BMJ 6 April 2019
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1141
Tags: Alternative Therapy | Brain & Neurology | Cancer | NHS | Pain Relief | UK News
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