Re: cannabis... and the law :)

### - an update on that petition to grow your own medical cannabis...

although it actually reached 13,000+ votes, they've just totally blanked=
  =

it hah...

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700860

their reasoning being all wrong, of course, their 'expert' likely some  =

backroom bookworm never having used it themselves in their entire life!

this being their official response:

Government responded
This response was given on 19 May 2025

Homegrown cannabis is not a safe or appropriate substitute for regulated=
  =

Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use and there are no plans to chan=
ge  =

the law to permit its use.

The response in full:
The Government sympathises with patients suffering from painful and  =

debilitating conditions and can understand their desire to seek the best=
  =

and most affordable treatment available. However, homegrown cannabis  =

cannot be substituted for Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use  =

(CBPMs) and we have no plans to allow this.

In line with the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, =
 =

Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use were rescheduled to Schedule 2=
  =

under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (the 2001 Regulations) on 1  =

November 2018. If the CBPM product is unlicensed (i.e. without a marketi=
ng  =

authorisation granted in accordance with the medicines legislation  =

applicable in the UK) and is being ordered otherwise than for a clinical=
  =

trial, the decision to order/prescribe the medicine can only be made by =
a  =

doctor on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council.

The law itself does not restrict which conditions CBPMs may be prescribe=
d  =

for and there is no legal impediment to specialist doctors prescribing  =

CBPMs where clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients=
.  =

It is important to remember that only products meeting the definition of=
 a  =

CBPM, in accordance with medicines legislation, were rescheduled.

Products not meeting this definition (other than cannabis-based medicine=
s  =

that have received marketing authorisation and have been separately  =

scheduled) remain Schedule 1 drugs under the 2001 Regulations. Schedule =
1  =

drugs cannot ordinarily be possessed or supplied except under a Home  =

Office licence. Cannabis cannot be cultivated except under a Home Office=
  =

licence and the Home Office does not grant licences to grow cannabis for=
  =

personal consumption.

Expert advice does not support the substitute of home grown or street  =

cannabis for CBPMs. In July 2018 the then UK Government=E2=80=99s Chief =
Medical  =

Adviser, Professor Dame Sally Davies considered the available evidence o=
f  =

the therapeutic and medicinal benefits of cannabis-based products in  =

=E2=80=9CCannabis Scheduling Review Part 1: The therapeutic and medicina=
l benefits  =

of Cannabis based products =E2=80=93 a review of recent evidence=E2=80=9D=
  =

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cannabis-scheduling-review-p=
art-1)  =

and concluded that:

=E2=80=9CCannabis has many active chemicals and only cannabis or derivat=
ives  =

produced for medical use can be assumed to have the correct concentratio=
ns  =

and ratios. Using other forms, such as grown or street cannabis, as  =

medicine for therapeutic benefit is potentially dangerous. The evidence =
 =

that cannabis and some of its derivatives can be addictive and harmful h=
as  =

been known for some time and is not disputed by recent science, so I  =

believe the reasons it is a controlled drug in the UK stand.=E2=80=9D (P=
aragraph  =

1.3)

=E2=80=9CThis review covers only medical cannabis and cannabis based med=
icinal  =

products designed specifically for medicinal use. Grown cannabis has ove=
r  =

100 active drugs, which can have a wide variety of concentrations and  =

ratios creating different and often severe side effects=E2=80=A6 Because=
 different  =

forms of grown cannabis have different concentrations and ratios of thes=
e  =

drugs, grown or street cannabis cannot safely be substituted for medicin=
al  =

cannabis.=E2=80=9D (Paragraph 2.4)

While this legislative change enabled access by prescription, by or unde=
r  =

the direction of a specialist clinician, it did not change the processes=
  =

that ensure NHS funding is prioritised for medicines proven safe and  =

clinically and cost effective =E2=80=93 that is medicines, such as the  =

cannabis-based medicines Sativex and Epidyolex, that are approved by the=
  =

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the  =

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

NICE states that more research is the key to building the evidence base =
to  =

support the use of CBPMs. Until we see robust evidence on the safety,  =

quality, and efficacy of these products, clinicians will remain reluctan=
t  =

to prescribe them and the NHS will not be able to make decisions on  =

routine funding. That is why we continue to encourage manufacturers of  =

unlicensed products to conduct research to support the use of their  =

products and seek regulatory approval, and why we offer scientific and  =

research advice from MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care=
  =

Research (NIHR).

The barrier to accessing these products on the NHS is one of evidence, n=
ot  =

government regulation, and the Department of Health and Social Care is  =

working closely with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish =
 =

clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.

Home Office

***

### - i mean duh? the whole POINT of 'medical' cannabis is surely that o=
f  =

people finding the different STRAIN(s) that work BEST for them, no? what=
  =

then could be risky or dangerous about that patient discovering a strain=
  =

that particularly works for them say via a clinic, purchasing the seeds =
 =

for it and growing that same strain themselves for only a tenth of the  =

commercial cost??

seeds aren't illegal in the uk! you can buy any strain over the counter!=
  =

it's only illegal to germinate them!

nah, imho that's a very lame excuse on their part, they are obviously  =

enjoying the income they're making from it as things currently stand  =

instead and don't want to make thing better for the people requiring it,=
  =

what a stitch-up!

iow: we still live in a very ignorant and greedy world!

a world where the wolves knowingly feed-off the sick & dying!

iow: they don't do anything for the sick because it might be good for SI=
CK  =

people, that's all just PR-hype! they do it only for the money and what =
 =

they can make out of it, the american medical insurance system being pro=
of  =

enough of that! poor people can't afford it!!!

80% of people CAN'T afford it!!!

which, in a democracy where what's best for the majority supposedly rule=
s,  =

is indeed scandalous!

and which, incidentally,  is one of the things malcolm x got absolutely =
 =

right when he said:

"we don't live in a democracy - we live in a hypocrisy!"

for here's another prime example of it right there!

(rolls eyes...) thang reckons it's the only little frankenstein-society =
we  =

gots, so the right thing to do is to support it come what may? (and then=
  =

attacks you if/when you find fault with any of society's obviously crapp=
y  =

ways and injustices lol) he didn't however abide by their laws when it  =

came to growing/selling some himself huh, there clearly being things he =
 =

*doesn't* agree with then, this making him a hypocrite!

this thing over licensed patients 'using but not growing' cannabis being=
  =

an example of same!

and coz lol: they've clearly got all the wrong people doing all the wron=
g  =

jobs haha...

it's 2025 folks but wallyworld still rools :D

as for thang's perfect society:

Ode To A Passing Monster.

Oh Frankie, oh monster that we made
Our hands are torn and bleeding
 From all the work you made us do
While we were only sleeping

You never made for easy life
And oil was your undoing
The pressures were exceeding great
The leaks were ever growing

And when in time you clanked your last
And fell you down to earth
We thought at least for one last great blast...
But pfffft was all we heard!

Ah monster-monster shining bright
By mortal minds all carved
Go 'gently' now into that night
Ere' mankind gasps its last...

--slider 2007 ;)