admin In England to treat epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, two cannabis-based medicines have been approved for use by the NHS.
Guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended the substances after examining cannabis-based products for several conditions.
The psychoactive ingredient THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) containing in drugs in cannabis should not be prescribed for people with chronic pain, Nice said.
For two rare types of epilepsy, Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, Epidyolex has been approved whereas for muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis (MS) the spray Sativex has been recommended.
In 2018 a change in the law made it legal for doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis but citing a lack of clear guidance many have been reluctant to do so.
It also said further research was needed on cannabis-based medicines to treat other forms of epilepsy. About 8,000 to 9,000 people in the UK have Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes.
From the campaign End Our Pain, Millie Hinton said Nice was focused on evidence from randomised control trials but medical cannabis was not always suited to these trials.
She said, “This restrictive guidance is condemning many patients to having to pay for life-transforming medicine privately, to go without or to consider accessing illegal and unregulated sources.”
The deputy chief executive at Epilepsy Action Simon Wigglesworth welcomed the decision to recommend Epidyolex. However, he said there were many thousands of people with other complex and treatment-resistant epilepsies who could potentially benefit from cannabis-based medicines.
Nice also recommended Sativex to treat muscle spasms in MS, a common symptom of the disease. Genevieve Edwards, the director of external affairs at the MS Society, said the approval was “brilliant” but did not go far enough.
Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley both of whom have severe epilepsy, families of two children have campaigned repeatedly for easier access to cannabis-based medicines in the UK.
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