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UK: Jeff Smith MP interview: The Labour MP fighting for medicinal cannabis and young people Christopher Sharp The Express Sunday 30 Jan 2022 Cannabis could help dementia - ‘Beginning of a new area for medicine' Express.co.uk asked Jeff Smith, the Labour Member of Parliament, why he put forward for medical cannabis in December and got this response. “I’ve been talking to a group of patients who’ve got treatment resistant epilepsy, a group of young people… [who] were not able to get the medicine they needed.” Jeff Smith is doing his part to help young people affected by conditions that medicinal cannabis can help treat. It’s not just so young people can access the benefits of medicinal cannabis, but everyone. Although medicinal cannabis is technically legal in the UK, it is very hard to get on the NHS. “The problem has been [that] people haven't been able to get access to it effectively; the clinicians are not prescribing and even when they do prescribe, sometimes the trust won’t fund it.” Private sector health providers will provide it, but this comes at a cost too great for some. This was where Smith’s Medical Cannabis Act came in with one of its aims to create a register of GPs who were trained in prescribing cannabis. Jeff Smith MP is campaigning for changes to medicinal cannabis procedures. (Image: Getty Images) The second part, says Smith, was “to develop an evidence-based system so that clinicians feel comfortable prescribing, particularly because all the approval processes are based around randomised control trials". However, randomised control trials, or RCTs, according to scientists “don’t really work for medical cannabis or for whole plant cannabis". This isn’t the only problem; the Bill didn’t go through. In Smith’s words, it was “talked out. We got five hours of time and they just got people to talk it out until the end of the five hours and, unfortunately, although it goes back onto the agenda for future days, it won’t get taken. It won’t be discussed until April". Woman, 26, left unable 'to eat or drink' due to chronic pain There’s more, because while the government isn’t against the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, they do disagree with some of Smith’s proposals. “When I spoke to ministers on this, they want more people to be able to access it, but they can’t find a way forward that they can agree with the medical establishment.” Again, this isn’t because of any major government opposition even though Smith said: “They didn’t put on record what the government’s disagreement with my suggestions were. I’ve written to the minister since then but not had a reply.” In fact, the issue is with two organisations, the MHRA and BPNA, who appear reluctant to give much leeway on medicinal cannabis. Lab tests on cannabis compounds. More research is finding out the benefits of medicinal cannabis. (Image: Getty Images) Should cannabis be legalised in the UK? London to launch new pilot Smith says that because of this reluctance that the government is “hamstrung by the advice” and that “the problem probably is with the medical establishment”. This isn’t to paint these two organisations in a negative light; Smith commented: “Rightly and understandably, there are some very strict standards.” The duty of these organisations is to make sure that medications that are let through the filter are safe for us and are proven to be effective. However, scientists have established that the tests used on more traditional medicines are not suited to medicinal cannabis, a plant that could mark the “beginning of a new area of clinical medicine”, according to one leading doctor. https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1556475/jeff-smith-labour-medicinal-cannabis-act-mhra-bnpa
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