Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide patients suffering from chronic pain with the option of accessing medicinal cannabis.

The Department routinely corresponds with the Welsh Government and patient representatives on making medicinal cannabis accessible to patients suffering from chronic pain. The Government has allowed specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based products, where clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that cannabis-based products for medicinal use are not offered to manage chronic pain in adults and that cannabidiol (CBD) only be offered as part of a clinical trial.

NICE recognises the lack of evidence to support the use of these medicines and recommends that further research is carried out on the clinical and cost effectiveness of CBD as an additional treatment for adults with fibromyalgia or for persistent treatment resistant neuropathic pain. The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including chronic pain. As for all other medicines, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to generate the evidence required for assessment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.