UK Government Not Funding Medical Cannabis Research

Following the 2018 legalisation of medical cannabis, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invited medical institutions to apply for primary clinical research into the safety and effectiveness of cannabis-based medicines. For the NIHR applications to qualify, proposals had to specifically concern the “management of difficult to treat epilepsy, or other disorders unresponsive to existing treatments where there is sufficient existing evidence to justify further, more definitive, research”. From October 2018 to July 2019 only one application was received, which was eventually denied. As we have previously commented, legal medical cannabis in the UK is not being practiced properly - and this is yet another instance of the UK government failing to pursue this valuable and important medicine. A spokesperson for the NIHR maintains that “medicinal cannabis remains a priority” but progress on the ground shows otherwise. 

One major reason for the lack of progress is the reluctance to tackle whole plant cannabis as medicine due to its immense complexity. Peter Carroll, director of End Our Pain understands the problems of dealing with cannabinoids although he believes that does not mean there should be extensive delays in prescribing cannabis to people suffering. He told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “With medical cannabis - and I’m talking about the whole plant extract, not a medicine that’s derived from cannabis and then isolated - I think many of the people who produce that are concerned about how relevant and accurate randomised controlled trials may be for that. It’s a complex list of active ingredients rather than just one. I fully understand the need for rigour and for evidence. But in the field of medicine, surely there has to be a slightly broader acceptability of the type of evidence that one would take into account when addressing the clinical needs of a patient”.

While the traditional way of authorising medication is too long to wait for many patients, it is the only way of ensuring a safe medicine - however many charities and activists are demanding observational trials and case by case assessments in order for desperate patients to have access sooner rather than later. Simon Wigglesworth, the deputy chief executive of Epilepsy Action, sheds light on this: “We’ve been calling for high-quality clinical trials since the start of this debate and warmly welcome the progress in this area. In the longer term, this is the only way that could bring cannabis-based medicines for epilepsy into mainstream practice. However, these trials are likely to take time to generate the evidence needed to allow more routine prescribing. The reality is that these children simply don’t have time to wait.” 

A joint statement was made by End Our Pain and Epilepsy Action on 30 October which asked the government to “act on its promises for easier access to cannabis-based medicines”. Currently Clinicaltrialsregister.eu shows no current or active UK clinical trials of whole-plant or full-spectrum cannabis oil meaning it will be a long time till any full spectrum medicines are approved - but solutions are necessary for patients in need today.