Cannabis to be supplied in UK NHS - will Ireland follow?

Andy From Sligo

Cannabis to be supplied on UK NHS - will Ireland follow?

jh79

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Cannabis to be supplied on UK NHS - will Ireland follow?

The uk system is likely to be either similar or even more restrictive than ours according to the guardian.

"However, it looks as though UK rules will allow only for medicines derived from cannabis, rather than medicinal cannabis itself, meaning that they are likely to benefit the kinds of extensively trialled products marketed by drug companies such as GW."

"They are likely to be conservative and only recommend processed medicinal products. However, pharmaceutical herbal cannabis, such as Bedrocan, does exist and could be considered"

Medicinal cannabis: how two heartbreaking cases helped change law

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/26/medicinal-cannabis-how-two-heartbreaking-cases-helped-change-law?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Wanderer78

We re edging closer, so yes, I think it will eventually happen here

Atlantic Dawn

Not for 20 years or so, big pharma has too many backers in this country.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I just hope it is decriminalised here sooner rather than later. Giving people criminal records for being found in possession of a bit of weed is really messed up.

Andy From Sligo

dont think i was dreaming when a few months back I thought I heard that a legal cannabis plant was opening up over here in Ireland .. I think Donegal or somewhere?

jh79

To be fair medical cannabis is already supplied by the HSE. They have issued , i think, 8 licences. Vera Twomey being the most high profile and hers is paid for by the HSE too.

Jennehy

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

dont think i was dreaming when a few months back I thought I heard that a legal cannabis plant was opening up over here in Ireland .. I think Donegal or somewhere?

Donegal people need more than cannabis to become normal.

Atlantic Dawn

jh79 wrote: »

To be fair medical cannabis is already supplied by the HSE. They have issued , i think, 8 licences. Vera Twomey being the most high profile and hers is paid for by the HSE too.

But 8 in a country of 4.5million plus is a bloody joke.

Andy From Sligo

Thing is the cannabis oil is already legal I thought , I thought it was legal for the UK as well (the oil that is) by use by anyone - online and in Holland & Barrett and other health stores in the UK were stocking cannabis oil long before today's ruling and it was/is legal .. the supplier (to make it legal) took out the part out of the cannabis the part that make people hallucinate and get stoned but still left the 'benefit bit' in it no?

jh79

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

But 8 in a country of 4.5million plus is a bloody joke.

It's not really when you look at the evidence for medical cannabis.

We are talking about either rare ilnesses or conditions where better options are already available.

jh79

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Thing is the cannabis oil is already legal I thought , I thought it was legal for the UK as well (the oil that is) by use by anyone - online and in Holland & Barrett and other health stores in the UK were stocking cannabis oil long before today's ruling and it was/is legal .. the supplier (to make it legal) took out the part out of the cannabis the part that make people hallucinate and get stoned but still left the 'benefit bit' in it no?

Some claim thc is also needed for a medical benefit. Virtually no evidence supports this. Possibly needed for Dravets but again little proper scientifc evidence to support this either and given it is such a rare illness there really is no need for anything more than the system we already have.

Wanderer78

jh79 wrote:

Some claim thc is also needed for a medical benefit. Virtually no evidence supports this. Possibly needed for Dravets but again little proper scientifc evidence to support this either and given it is such a rare illness there really is no need for anything more than the system we already have.

We ve had these debates over and over, are current drug laws are not working, they have largely failed to reduce illegal drugs consumption, it's time for drastic changes to try deal with the complex issues that occur due to consumption, we either continue with the current hide it away approach or just legalise the lot, and see what we re truly dealing with, yes this is an extremely risky approach and will cause problems, some serious, but it's probably a better approach

jh79

Wanderer78 wrote: »

We ve had these debates over and over, are current drug laws are not working, they have largely failed to reduce illegal drugs consumption, it's time for drastic changes to try deal with the complex issues that occur due to consumption, we either continue with the current hide it away approach or just legalise the lot, and see what we re truly dealing with, yes this is an extremely risky approach and will cause problems, some serious, but it's probably a better approach

Current drugs laws have nothing to do with medicine. You buying weed is of no concern to the HPRA. I don't see the relevance of your post at all.

I pro legalisation for recreational use by the way but that doesn't change the fact that the evidence for medical use is severely lacking.

potatohouse

societal medicine

freshpopcorn

YFlyer

Plenty of other herbs and rasayanas that should be made more available.

Wanderer78

jh79 wrote:

I pro legalisation for recreational use by the way but that doesn't change the fact that the evidence for medical use is severely lacking.

Oh I do agree, I wouldn't really recommend use of illegal drugs, but people are gonna do it anyway, so we might as well just bloody legalise the lot, and try deal with it. Some of those that lobby for its legalisation will of course provide all sorts of 'evidence' to support their views, the joys of being human!

Andy From Sligo

freshpopcorn wrote: »

ah ****e - what did he mean when he said "you ask mom!" ? - i was getting right into that

Andy From Sligo

drinking alcohol is a mind altering substance too and damages your looks, organs and over all heath when done in excess..... - i dont see them making it illegal any time soon though

yeah - legalise everything .. or ban everything i don't think there should be one legal and the other illegal (i'm not a druggy by the way)

Wanderer78

Andy From Sligo wrote:

yeah - legalise everything .. or ban everything i don't think there should be one legal and the other illegal (i'm not a druggy by the way)

No point banning such substances, humans will just consume them anyway, just legalise and try deal with it as best as possible

Royale with Cheese

Criminalisation of drug possession will be looked back upon by future generations as a complete and utter failure. It has achieved nothing.

Wanderer78

Royale with Cheese wrote:

Criminalisation of drug possession will be looked back upon by future generations as a complete and utter failure. It has achieved nothing.

Wouldn't class it as a complete failure, but it certainly hasn't been a roaring success either, hard to know what future generations will think

Water John

This expert clinician thinks it would be of benefit to a good number of people. Here referring to the UK:
Prof Mike Barnes, the clinician who successfully applied for a licence on behalf of Alfie Dingley’s family, welcomed the news and expressed his hope that the rules governing medicinal use cannabis would not be “too restrictive”.

“I hope medical cannabis will be available very soon to help the many tens of thousands of people who benefit from the medicine but are currently deemed criminals,” he said. “I hope the government will not make the regulations too restrictive but sensibly open up the way to make good quality, safe cannabis available on prescription.”

Well Pharma are in on the business;
The UK is the world’s largest exporter and producer of cannabis-based medicines; a British company, GW Pharmaceuticals, is the global leader in developing them.

It developed and markets Sativex, a drug for treating multiple sclerosis which has limited availability in the UK. The firm has recently launched an epilepsy drug, Epidiolex, which recently became the first cannabis-derived medicine to gain US government approval.

Both quotes are from The Guardian.
BTW Teresa May's husband works for the Capital Group, the largest investor in GW Pharma, for the possible conspiracy theorists.

jh79

Water John wrote: »

This expert clinician thinks it would be of benefit to a good number of people. Here referring to the UK:
Prof Mike Barnes, the clinician who successfully applied for a licence on behalf of Alfie Dingley’s family, welcomed the news and expressed his hope that the rules governing medicinal use cannabis would not be “too restrictive”.

“I hope medical cannabis will be available very soon to help the many tens of thousands of people who benefit from the medicine but are currently deemed criminals,” he said. “I hope the government will not make the regulations too restrictive but sensibly open up the way to make good quality, safe cannabis available on prescription.”

Well Pharma are in on the business;
The UK is the world’s largest exporter and producer of cannabis-based medicines; a British company, GW Pharmaceuticals, is the global leader in developing them.

It developed and markets Sativex, a drug for treating multiple sclerosis which has limited availability in the UK. The firm has recently launched an epilepsy drug, Epidiolex, which recently became the first cannabis-derived medicine to gain US government approval.

Both quotes are from The Guardian.
BTW Teresa May's husband works for the Capital Group, the largest investor in GW Pharma, for the possible conspiracy theorists.

Barnes is famously pro legalisation , got into a bit of trouble for failing to declare he is on the payroll of a pro legalisation lobby group when he published / presented his non peer reviewed report on medical cannabis to the House of Commons. While the report does highlight the weaknesses in the research it doesn't give any justification as to why they should be ignored.