Is the medical use of cannabis about to be legalised in the UK?

Harold Wilson once said "a week is a long time in politics", but even so, the Government’s ideological shift this week on the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, from blanket disapproval to calls of ‘why not?’ has developed at breakneck speed.

A series of events have unravelled within days in parliament that has left the Government at a crossroads in its approach to medical cannabis use.

Medical cannabis use ‘could relieve pain for up to 10,000 MS sufferers’

It all started at the weekend, with the confiscated medicine of a sick child at Heathrow airport on Saturday. It ended up Monday morning with Home Office minister Nick Hurd confirming rumours that an expert panel, led by England's chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies, was being set up to advise ministers.

Today, Home Secretary, Sajid Javid stated: "Cases like Billy Caldwell’s, Alfie Dingley’s, and others like it, have shown that we need to look more closely at the use of cannabis-based medicine in healthcare in the UK.

"The position we find ourselves in currently is not satisfactory. It’s not satisfactory for the parents, it’s not satisfactory for the doctors, and it’s not satisfactory for me."

The Home Secretary promised that if the review panel found there were ‘significant medical benefits’ then the class B drug would be ‘downgraded'.

Many health experts and charities have welcomed the shift in stance on using cannabis for medical use. Director of External Affairs at the MS Society, Genevieve Edwards said: “This is really welcome news and we’re pleased to see the Government taking the issue so seriously.

“We’re looking forward to hearing more details and hope the Government goes further than just reviewing individual cases. Evidence shows that cannabis for medicinal use could work for around 10,000 people with MS to relieve pain and muscle spasms.

“It’s simply wrong that people are being driven to break the law to relieve these relentless symptoms. We think the Government should make it available to those who could benefit.”

‘Exceptional powers’ used to issue cannabis oil drug

Twelve-year-old Billy Caldwell can suffer up to 100 epileptic seizures each day. When Billy’s mother, Charlotte, was detained by customs at Heathrow on Saturday, she appealed to the Home Secretary, who made the landmark decision to intervene and issue an emergency 20-day licence of the confiscated drugs, which contain cannabis oil. Ms Caldwell had brought back the drugs from Canada as they were illegal and unavailable in the UK.

Mr Javid tweeted on Saturday afternoon, from the Home Office account: “This morning, I’ve used an exceptional power as Home Secretary to urgently issue a licence to allow Billy Caldwell to be treated with cannabis oil.”

The medication was eventually administered by staff at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, and Billy was released from their care on Monday 19 June.

The Epilepsy Society, welcomed Mr Javid’s response to Billy Caldwell’s situation. Their chief executive, Clare Pelham, said: “We congratulate the Home Secretary on his compassionate response.

“This is a complex area that requires further thoughtful consideration and Epilepsy Society looks forward to supporting the Government in this important work.”

Current laws “inappropriate, ineffective and utterly out of date”

On Monday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced he had launched a review into legalising the use of cannabis on medical grounds, and that it would be concluded “as quickly as we possibly can”. The Home Office denied anything of the kind had been agreed. Shortly after came the Hurd review panel announcement.

Former leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, went a step further, advocating the complete legalisation of cannabis for medical and recreational use. He told Prime Minister, Theresa May, in an interview with the Telegraph on Tuesday, that UK policy on drugs, especially of cannabis was “inappropriate, ineffective and utterly out of date” and he ended by saying that the “battle is effectively over”.

But not everyone in Government is as keen on legalising the medicinal use of cannabis, especially the PM, who had a zero-tolerance approach in her long tenure as Home Secretary. She originally distanced herself from the most recent debate.

“Listen to the medics, listen to the doctors”

Cannabis is used to treat a plethora of conditions in many other countries, including Canada, the Netherlands and several US states.

Ms Caldwell had travelled especially to Toronto to purchase a drug for Billy’s seizures which is legal in Canada but banned in the UK because it contains the substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Billy began using the drug in 2016 to control his seizures.

According to campaign charity End our Pain, the most established uses of medicinal herbal cannabis include the relief of pain and muscle spasms or cramps associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord damage, chronic neuropathic pain, nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss and debilitation due to cancer or AIDS, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and therapy-resistant glaucoma.

As the Billy Caldwell case has shown, the use of cannabis oil is particularly useful for the treatment of epilepsy.

Middlesbrough MP, Andy McDonald explained to the Commons how his son died in 2006 after he experienced a seizure. He had suffered from intractable epilepsy, a type of epilepsy that doesn’t respond to treatment. In a letter to Sajid Javid about the issue, the Labour MP said on Monday: "Look, listen to the medics, listen to the doctors.

"If they say this is working, don't put anything in the way of bringing about that relief because these parents will be living in constant fear of sudden death from epilepsy and nobody wants to have that happen.

"I couldn't wish that on anybody."