Fresh hopes for medical cannabis access under new Health Secretary Sajid Javid

In 2018, the former Home Secretary played a pivotal role in the rescheduling of medical cannabis  – now in his new position, campaigners hope he remembers his promise.

Three years ago, serving as Home Secretary Sajid Javid changed the law on medicinal cannabis , giving the green light to patients who needed it urgently on prescription.

Now as the new Health Secretary following the resignation of Matt Hancock last weekend, healthcare professionals, campaigners and patients are eager to see if Javid will make further changes to improve access to cannabis medicines on the NHS.

Mr Javid first addressed the issue in the Commons in 2018, having been moved by the high-profile cases of Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley.

He called for a full review of the Government policy.

Speaking at the time, he said: “It is now time to review the scheduling of cannabis.”

“As a father there is nothing worse than seeing your child suffer, you would do anything to take away their pain, that is why I have the utmost sympathy for Billy Caldwell, Alfie Dingley and many others like that.”

In 2018, Billy Caldwell was granted a special license to access medical cannabis treatment in hospital and later that year, Alfie Dingley was granted the first full license to apply for a medical cannabis prescription.

Speaking to Cannabis Health, Alfie’s mother Hannah Deacon, who has continued to campaign for all patients to have access to cannabis medicines, expressed: “I really hope Sajid sees what has gone wrong and works with us to ensure that medical cannabis products are urgently available on the NHS.

“In 2018 he changed the law after hearing our story and others, it helped him to understand why this medicine is important and how it can change lives.”

Campaigners want to see wider access to medical cannabis on the NHS

Despite the law change almost two and a half years ago, only three prescriptions are thought to have been issued on the NHS.

Hannah and others in the sector are hopeful that Mr Javid will build on this legislation and keep his promise of supporting other patients to access the treatment.

Professor Mike Barnes, chair of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society and the doctor who obtained the first medical cannabis prescription for Alfie, commented: “This move is potentially very promising for the cannabis sector. Javid was Home Secretary when the first license for medical cannabis prescription was granted.”

He added: “When the law changed in 2018 Sajid wrote to Hannah promising his support for the rolling out of the legislation of medical cannabis, we hope that he keeps his promise unlike his predecessors.”

The medical cannabis meeting is to be held in two weeks where a full review will take place.

Politicians who have advocated for wider access to medicinal cannabis have also called on Mr Javid to work with them to “overcome the barriers” and build a system “fit for purpose”.

Billy Caldwell’s mother and campaigners are said to be meeting with Government health officials later this month to discuss the deadlock.

Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, chair of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group said: “Sajid Javid gave Billy Caldwell the special licence as Home Secretary to have his cannabis based medicine returned after it had been confiscated by customs, a turning point which led to medicine from cannabis getting over legal line in the UK.

“I hope he can now build on that long-awaited foundation as Health Secretary, at long last enabling the UK to have a regulatory system fit for purpose. This means engendering access where appropriate for all of Britain to the health and wellness benefits of cannabis-based medicinal products, and for related regulation to take place on the basis of an evidence based assessment of risk and reward; a system that is that is fit for public health purposes, rather than an illusion of prohibition.”

Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour Party MP and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for medical cannabis on prescription, added: “Sajid Javid was instrumental in enabling access to medicinal cannabis for Alfie Dingley when the law changed in November 2018.

“I hope that he will have greater understanding of the frustration of so many families due to the blockages and that as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care he will work with me and the APPG for medical cannabis under prescription to overcome these barriers.”

As Mr Javid had previously acknowledged that there was some “evidence of medical benefits” pressures for him to roll out wider NHS will be expected.