Medicinal Cannabis

Baroness Thornton Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness will not be surprised to learn that I have just spent three and a half months looking at drugs that might make a difference to Covid, only to find that many of them are not helpful and often quite dangerous, so I do not share the optimism bias that many have towards unlicensed drugs. We remain conservative in our approach to clinical trials. I agree with the noble Baroness and others who have suggested that progress on this should be quicker, and I am leaning into the subject to try to bring that about as soon as we can.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

My Lords, it is deeply concerning that no new NHS prescriptions for full extract cannabis oil have been issued since the medicinal use of the drug was legalised more than 18 months ago. This leads to a health inequality: 313 private prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis medicine items, including full extract oil, have been issued. Does the Minister share my concern that only wealthy families and those who can successfully raise funds in the region of £2,000 a month have access to cannabis medicines, while children from poorer families who are unable to afford the prescription are going without? What does he think needs to happen next?

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness shines a spotlight on an uncomfortable but realistic fact of life in our medical service: those with money are able to pay for treatments beyond the reach of those who rely on the NHS for absolutely everything. Another area that concerns me is that those who have relied on fundraising have found that Covid has restricted the amount of money coming from donors. That is why we have put money into medical research charities and support charities that can help support those fundraising for their medicine.