MPs say there is clear evidence that medicinal cannabis has therapeutic value
Science & Health
A group of MPs is calling for the legalisation of cannabis for medical
purposes. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform says
there's "clear evidence" the plant has therapeutic value.
The MPs say cannabis can help relieve the symptoms of chronic pain and anxiety, and should be available for prescription on the NHS.
But, responding to the call, the Home Office insisted that cannabis was a "harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health".
The cross-bench group says tens of thousands of people are already self-prescribing the plant, illegally, for medical conditions. It wants the government to reclassify the plant from a schedule one drug to schedule four.
If this happens, it would become a controlled substance in the same bracket as steroids and sedatives. Doctors could prescribe it, chemists dispense it – and it might even be legal to grow it at home for personal medical use.
The MPs took evidence from 623 witnesses – patients, medics and
experts on cannabis regulation in other countries. It commissioned a
report on the plant, which contains more than 60 chemicals, by an expert
in rehabilitation medicine.
Professor Mike Barnes found "good" evidence that the plant helps alleviate chronic pain, spasticity, nausea, vomiting and anxiety. It can also help people with MS and those undergoing chemotherapy.
Barnes says there is "moderate" evidence that cannabis can help with dementia, sleep disorders, poor appetite, fibromyalgia, post-traumatic stress disorder and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Co-chair Baroness Molly Meacher said: "Cannabis works as a medicine for a number of medical conditions. The evidence has been strong enough to persuade a growing number of countries and US states to legalise access to medical cannabis.
"Against this background, the UK scheduling of cannabis as a substance that has no medical value is irrational."
The BBC points out that the NHS warns that cannabis carries risks including impairing the ability to drive, damaging lungs if taken via smoking, harming mental health, impairing fertility and damaging unborn babies.
Here are some other pros and cons of decriminalising drugs:
Release, the drugs charity which organised the letter, says arresting users "creates more harm for individuals, their families and society". It says that if users are not "caught up in the criminal justice system" they have a better chance of escaping addiction and argues that evidence from other countries supports this view. According to Release, users of ‘soft’ drugs like cannabis are more likely to try something harder, including heroin, when both are illegal.
Notably, caffeine, food and nicotine are exempt. Among the proposed banned substances are drugs that have been legally sold and used in the UK for decades, such as laughing gas and poppers.
The island hopes for a gold-rush selling the drug to US states that allow its therapeutic use, says the Daily Telegraph. Even the US State Department acknowledges that Jamaica is the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States.
Drug laws around the world
Jamaica decriminalised the possession of small amounts of the drug in February, and in Portugal the possession of small quantities of any drug has been decriminalised.
In December 2013, Uruguay became the first nation to make it legal to grow, consume and sell the plant. That said, all sales must pass through a government-run marketplace, and the administration has yet to set up that system.
Twenty-three US states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana for medical purposes and Washington became the first to permit the recreational use of the plant in 2012, despite a federal ban. Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia have since followed suit. Cannabis went on sale in Washington in July 2014.
What happened as a result?
The legalisation of cannabis in some US states has not led to a rise in adolescent use, a US study found. It revealed that while cannabis use was generally higher in the states that had passed medical marijuana legislation before 2014, the passage of such laws did not affect the rate of marijuana use in those states.
British experts pushing for medicinal and research use of the drug welcomed the news. "Patients with... severe health problems are currently being denied effective treatment in the UK," Professor Val Curran, the UK's foremost expert on medical marijuana.
The MPs say cannabis can help relieve the symptoms of chronic pain and anxiety, and should be available for prescription on the NHS.
But, responding to the call, the Home Office insisted that cannabis was a "harmful drug which can damage people's mental and physical health".
The cross-bench group says tens of thousands of people are already self-prescribing the plant, illegally, for medical conditions. It wants the government to reclassify the plant from a schedule one drug to schedule four.
If this happens, it would become a controlled substance in the same bracket as steroids and sedatives. Doctors could prescribe it, chemists dispense it – and it might even be legal to grow it at home for personal medical use.
Professor Mike Barnes found "good" evidence that the plant helps alleviate chronic pain, spasticity, nausea, vomiting and anxiety. It can also help people with MS and those undergoing chemotherapy.
Barnes says there is "moderate" evidence that cannabis can help with dementia, sleep disorders, poor appetite, fibromyalgia, post-traumatic stress disorder and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Co-chair Baroness Molly Meacher said: "Cannabis works as a medicine for a number of medical conditions. The evidence has been strong enough to persuade a growing number of countries and US states to legalise access to medical cannabis.
"Against this background, the UK scheduling of cannabis as a substance that has no medical value is irrational."
The BBC points out that the NHS warns that cannabis carries risks including impairing the ability to drive, damaging lungs if taken via smoking, harming mental health, impairing fertility and damaging unborn babies.
Here are some other pros and cons of decriminalising drugs:
The pros and cons of legalising drugs
Pro: The war on drugs creates addicts
Russell Brand, Sir Richard Branson, Sting and Michael Mansfield QC were among high-profile signatories to an open letter asking David Cameron to consider decriminalising possession of cannabis, The Independent reported last year. Cannabis has been classified as a Class B drug in the UK since 2008 and carries a prison sentence of up to five years for possession.Release, the drugs charity which organised the letter, says arresting users "creates more harm for individuals, their families and society". It says that if users are not "caught up in the criminal justice system" they have a better chance of escaping addiction and argues that evidence from other countries supports this view. According to Release, users of ‘soft’ drugs like cannabis are more likely to try something harder, including heroin, when both are illegal.
Con: Legalising drugs would create addicts
Kevin Sabet, a leading US academic and opponent of drug liberalisation, told The Guardian last year: "Legal regulation has been a disaster for drugs like alcohol and tobacco. Both of those drugs are now sold by highly commercialised industries who thrive off addiction for profit." He concluded: "What we need is much smarter law-enforcement, coupled with real demand reduction in places like Europe and the US." At a time when governments are uniting to stop people smoking, should they really be becoming more laissez-faire about drug use?Pro: If you can’t beat them, regulate them
Sir William Patey, the former UK ambassador to Afghanistan, ruffled feathers last year when he came out in favour of legalising the trade in opium poppies, from which heroin is derived. Writing in The Guardian, Patey said it was impossible to stop Afghan farmers from growing and exporting opium illegally, and concluded that "if we cannot deal effectively with supply" the only alternative is to "limit the demand for illicit drugs by making a licit supply of them available from a legally-regulated market". This would create stability and peace in drug-producing nations.Con: Regulation may overstep the mark
The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 classifies drugs as illegal in the UK based on their chemical compounds. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction says that, due to small alterations in the chemical formulae of illegal drugs, two new legal highs are discovered in Europe every week. In an effort to combat this trend, ministers have introduced a law banning all psychoactive substances, which could technically cover everything from hot chocolate to heroin, The Guardian reports.Notably, caffeine, food and nicotine are exempt. Among the proposed banned substances are drugs that have been legally sold and used in the UK for decades, such as laughing gas and poppers.
Pro: Ganja is good for business
In Jamaica, one of the major arguments in favour of decriminalising ganja, as cannabis is known there, was an economic one. As well as making possession less dangerous (it currently only results in a fine), the government has now legalised growing for medical purposes.The island hopes for a gold-rush selling the drug to US states that allow its therapeutic use, says the Daily Telegraph. Even the US State Department acknowledges that Jamaica is the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States.
Cons: The Pope wouldn't like it
Pope Francis has tarnished his glowing liberal credentials as the tweeting pontiff who spoke inclusively about gay people, denounced "unbridled capitalism" and reached out to Muslims, by speaking out against decriminalisation. Francis is a native of Argentina, which borders Uruguay where cannabis is now legally grown and smoked. He said legalising recreational drugs was "highly questionable" and would "fail to produce the desired effects", reported the Daily Mail. He added that legalisation was "a veiled means of surrendering to the problem".Drug laws around the world
Jamaica decriminalised the possession of small amounts of the drug in February, and in Portugal the possession of small quantities of any drug has been decriminalised.
In December 2013, Uruguay became the first nation to make it legal to grow, consume and sell the plant. That said, all sales must pass through a government-run marketplace, and the administration has yet to set up that system.
Twenty-three US states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana for medical purposes and Washington became the first to permit the recreational use of the plant in 2012, despite a federal ban. Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia have since followed suit. Cannabis went on sale in Washington in July 2014.
What happened as a result?
The legalisation of cannabis in some US states has not led to a rise in adolescent use, a US study found. It revealed that while cannabis use was generally higher in the states that had passed medical marijuana legislation before 2014, the passage of such laws did not affect the rate of marijuana use in those states.
British experts pushing for medicinal and research use of the drug welcomed the news. "Patients with... severe health problems are currently being denied effective treatment in the UK," Professor Val Curran, the UK's foremost expert on medical marijuana.
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