Asked by: Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the availability of sativex through the NHS with the classification of cannabis as a Schedule One substance.
Answered by George Freeman
Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and is listed in Schedule 1 under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Cannabis in its raw form is not authorised as a medicinal product in the United Kingdom and no assessment has been made by the Government of its potential medicinal benefits.
Sativex is the first cannabis-based medicine (oral spray) to be recognised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to have medicinal properties and is placed in Part I of Schedule 4 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. This distinguishes it from cannabis in its raw form which continues to remain a Class B and Schedule 1 controlled drug under UK legislation. A person can lawfully possess Sativex under a prescription issued by a qualified healthcare professional.
However, Sativex remains a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Act and Class B drug offences, including unlawful possession, supply, possession with intent to supply etc, continue to apply to Sativex.
Asked by: Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were given an opiate-based treatment (a) within a hospital, (b) on prescription and (c) otherwise in the last 12 months.
Answered by George Freeman
Information on the number of people given a particular medicine or type of medicine is not available.
Information on the number of packs of opiate-based medicines dispensed by National Health Service hospital pharmacies in England for 2013-14 is shown in table 1.
Table 1: Number of packs dispensed in hospital pharmacies
Chemical Name | Number of packs dispensed in hospital pharmacies (secondary care) (000s) |
Buprenorphine | 98.2 |
Buprenorphine/Naloxone | 0.9 |
Codeine | 1,856.5 |
Dextromethorphan | 0.7 |
Diamorphine | 210.4 |
Dihydrocodeine | 335.2 |
Fentanyl | 590.7 |
Hydromorphone | 2.1 |
Meptazinol | 6.3 |
Methadone | 77.8 |
Morphine | 1,492.5 |
Oxycodone | 333.2 |
Oxycodone/Naloxone | 3.4 |
Pethidine | 46.9 |
Pholcodine | 3.0 |
Tapentadol | 4.7 |
Tramadol | 954.4 |
Other1 | 0.1 |
1 Includes Opium, Pentazocine
Source: Hospital Pharmacy Audit Index (HPAI) provided by IMS Health
Information on the number of opiate-based medicines items dispensed on prescription in the community in England in 2013-14 for treatments under the following British National Formulary (BNF) chapters is shown in table 2.
Table 2: Prescription items dispensed in the community
BNF chapter | Chemical Name | Prescription items dispensed in the community (primary care) (000s) |
3.9.1 | Pholcodine | 300.1 |
Codeine Phosphate | 194.5 | |
Other2 | 0.5 | |
4.7.2 | Tramadol Hydrochloride | 8,002.4 |
Codeine Phosphate | 3,934.8 | |
Morphine Sulfate | 3,734.0 | |
Dihydrocodeine Tartrate | 1,877.6 | |
Buprenorphine | 1,679.5 | |
Oxycodone Hydrochloride | 1,197.2 | |
Fentanyl | 1,177.2 | |
Diamorphine Hydrochloride (Systemic) | 120.8 | |
Oxycodone Hydrochloride/ Naloxone Hydrochloride | 76.8 | |
Methadone Hydrochloride | 70.9 | |
Meptazinol Hydrochloride | 67.7 | |
Tapentadol Hydrochloride | 48.1 | |
Pethidine Hydrochloride | 38.3 | |
Dipipanone Hydrochloride | 15.3 | |
Hydromorphone Hydrochloride | 10.1 | |
Other3 | 6.9 | |
4.10.3 | Methadone Hydrochloride | 2,544.6 |
Buprenorphine Hydrochloride | 873.4 | |
Buprenorph Hydrochloride/ Naloxone Hydrochloride | 142.7 |
2 Includes Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide, Methadone Hydrochloride, Diamorphine Hydrochloride
3 Includes Pentazocine Hydrochloride, Morphine Tartrate and Cyclizine Tartrate, Dextromoramide Tartrate, Papaveretum, Morphine Hydrochloride, Pentazocine Lactate, Oxycodone, Powdered Opium
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre
Information on opiate-based medicines not provided through the NHS e.g. those bought over the counter or provided by private hospitals, is not collected.
Asked by: Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the ability of people to access Sativex in the NHS.
Answered by George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published an updated clinical guideline on the management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care in October 2014, in which Sativex (nabiximols) is not recommended for treating spasticity.
National Health Service commissioners must consider requests to fund Sativex in line with the NHS Constitution.