Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) General Medical Council, (c) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Office on the regulation of private clinics prescribing cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.

Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.

The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.