Last Updated on 19th September 2020

A growing number of health and drug experts across the UK have called on the NHS and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to liberalise strict laws around medical cannabis.

Over 100 cross-party MPs have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to increase patient access to medical cannabis, including Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson, Labour MP Dr. Phillip Lee, and Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health and Social Care Barbara Keeley.

The letter urged Johnson to “intervene urgently on behalf of vulnerable families” who have had to resort to private treatment to access medical cannabis medication, a process which can cost thousands of pounds.

Just last week, campaign group End Our Pain presented an invoice worth £230,000 to the government to reimburse families for private medical cannabis treatment.

In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, three leading academic drug experts have called for more liberal restrictions around accessing medical cannabis.

The signatories included Professor Lawrence Phillips, a drug expert from the London School of Economics, Professor Stephen Bazire, a consultant pharmacist, and Professor David Nutt, a leading drug expert from Imperial College London.

The letter was also co-signed by crossbench peer Baroness Molly Meacher, who supports the decriminalisation of drugs as chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform.

The letter urged the Health Secretary to increase access to medical cannabis treatment to help reduce the growing number of patients relying on potentially addictive opioid painkillers. The signatories also recommended that medical cannabis be made available for patients suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis.