Pharmacy supports MedCannID scheme to protect patients from harassment

The group behind the UK’s first expert medical cannabis dispensary is supporting a validation scheme to protect patients from discrimination and harassment.

Lyphe Group, the company behind the largest medical cannabis clinic and expert pharmacy, Dispensary Green has announced it will be supporting the MedCannID scheme for its patients.

MedCannID – the only legally prescribed medical cannabis patient authenticity system – offers simple and effective identification for medical cannabis patients with a unique photo ID card and accompanying app.

It means patients, who have been legitimately prescribed cannabis medicines by their doctor, no longer have to live in fear of being subjected to police checks.

But it also protects patients from unfair treatment from other authorities, such as landlords or employers, for consuming cannabis based medicines.

There are now more than 4,000 medical cannabis patients in the UK, as certified clinical operations continue to expand.

According to Lyphe Group, in a recent survey, 77 percent of patients under its care reported improvements to their quality of life across a spectrum of treatable conditions.

However, there are still areas where policies need deeper consideration – specifically at local levels of governance, in councils, police departments and workplaces. 

“At Lyphe Group we recognise that medical cannabis patients can sometimes experience unfair treatment or harassment by certain authorities, who are unaware that the medication has been legally prescribed,” the company said in a statement.

“One of the main areas of concern for the safety of medical cannabis patients is in the need for educating local police forces. This is in order to adjust areas of misconception and ensure that legal patients aren’t being harassed, or receiving unfair treatment when carrying their medication on them.

“To address this, we’re pleased to announce that we’re teaming up with MedCannID who offer an ID card that confirms the validity of a patient’s prescription.”

It also revealed that there have been a number of “avoidable” incidents where “significant errors” were made by the authorities in subjecting patients to discrimination due to their medication. 

“There have already been a few completely avoidable incidents in which medical cannabis patients have been inappropriately put under pressure, both in cases of law enforcement overreach and in discrimination in the contexts of employment and housing,” the group continued.

“In every case, significant errors were made on the part of respective authorities and this is something the MedCannID is working towards providing clarification on to avoid these circumstances repeating themselves.

“Through our collaboration, we’re working on making it as simple as possible to get patients setup with MedCannID.”

Dispensary Green will now provide patients with all of the necessary information as soon as it is requested following the dispensing of their medication.

Over 500 legally prescribed cannabis patients have already registered for the scheme, with an almost 100 percent take-up rate, since the fully-operational system was launched this month. 

A number of local authorities across the UK are already briefed and recognising MedCannID, with work being done to get more authorities on board as the scheme continues to develop. 

Lyphe group concluded: “Patients deserve and need to undertake their treatments completely free of concern of harassment. With close cooperation and a constructive approach, we’re sure that the work of MedCannID is definitely a step in the right direction for a workable and sustainable environment for patients and authorities.”

For more information visit https://medcannid.com/