Medicinal cannabis products to be legalised
Specialist doctors in the UK will be able to legally prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products by autumn, the home secretary has announced.
Those that meet safety and quality standards are to be made legal for patients with an "exceptional clinical need", Sajid Javid said.
It follows high-profile cases involving children with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil.
Others forms of cannabis will remain illegal.
Mr Javid's decision was made after the chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said patients with certain medical conditions should be given access to the treatments.
Their advice was part of a review into medicinal cannabis launched by the home secretary following an outcry over Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley being denied access to cannabis oil.
The parents of the boys, who have rare forms of epilepsy, say it controls their seizures.
The Home Office recently granted them a short-term licence to access the treatments.
The Department for Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will now develop a clear definition of what constitutes a cannabis-derived medicinal product so they can be rescheduled and prescribed, the Home Office said.
In the meantime, clinicians will still be able to apply to an independent expert panel on behalf of patients wishing to access these products.
