The Legalization of Medical Cannabis in the UK initiates questions of Possible Recreational Laws
The United Kingdom has relaxed its laws relating to cannabis which will permit specialist physicians to recommend cannabis-infused items for specific patients. It’s a drastic change to the cannabis laws in the U.K. However; this change has already ignited a lot of talks concerning the complete legalization of cannabis for adult-use. According to recent surveys, support for adult-use legalization stands at 59 percent. However, leading administrators in the U.K. government, do not agree that the rescheduling of cannabis-based medical treatments will lead to the future legalization of the plant.
After Alfie and Billy, 13 and 12 respectively, were both diagnosed with a severe type of epilepsy, the U.K government decided to change its policy on cannabis. Alfie and Billy heavily depend on cannabis oil to decrease the impact and rate of their seizures. And even though the laws of the U.K. had allowed people to appeal for medical cannabis in severe cases, both kids were never authorized. Concerning Alfie, the home office of the U.K. denied giving his parents’ licensing request, and Billie’s cannabis oil was seized when his mother arrived in London.
Due to the outcry from Billie and Alfie’s parents, both children were granted exclusive licenses to access their medical cannabis treatments. Moreover, this problem made the home secretary Sajid Javid to commence a review of the cannabis policy in the U.K. The results of the study were satisfactory. Eventually, the conclusion was that medical cannabis had medicinal advantages and that physicians should be allowed to recommend it. Due to the findings of the review, Javid acknowledged the plan to reclassify medical marijuana in the U.K.
On the 1st of November, the new rule became effective. Specific cannabis-related products are now considered as “Schedule 2.” This means, a regulated substance with “possible medical use.” The reclassification of cannabis opens the door for many doctors in the U.K. doctors to recommend the drug. However, the U.K. government is currently imposing heavy restrictions on access to cannabis. Presently, only patients carrying an “unmet clinical need” will gain eligibility for cannabis prescriptions.
To be eligible for cannabis-infused treatments in the U.K., you do not have to be suffering from specific qualifying conditions. Instead, physicians will determine whether a patient has an “unmet clinical need” that cannabis can treat. Cannabis prescriptions will be written only by specialists. All the doctors listed on the National Health Service website will have to decide depending on each case and can show that licensed medications can’t satisfy the patient’s clinical need. Most physicians have refused to issue cannabis prescriptions in any case. According to them, there has been a lack of control when it comes to releasing this type of medicines. Furthermore, there are no policies that support doctors if patients are not satisfied.
People are still not sure about the specifics of how the rescheduling of the drug will be implemented. Currently, the reclassification will possibly affect only a small number of patients in the U.K. However, people in the U.K. want complete legalization of the drug. Hopefully, this will be the first significant sign that drug policy changes are possible.
