Cannabis Health News
The Care Quality Commission has raised a number of concerns related to the prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use in the UK, as the latest data reveals further increases in private prescriptions.
Earlier this month the independent regulator which is responsible for overseeing health and social care in England published its annual update on the safer management of controlled drugs, including CBPMs.
It raises a number of concerns about some of the prescribing practices at private clinics, warning of gaps in oversight, clinical justification, and compliance with advertising rules, as it reports an increase of 130% in prescriptions between 2023-2024.
Data collected from 35 providers registered with the regulator shows that 346,000 items were dispensed between 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2024, compared with 150,527 the previous year.
This is in line with previous data from NHS Business Services Authority, published in response to an FOI request, showing that over 300,000 items were prescribed between April 2023-24.
A new request, made public last week, gives a more detailed picture of private prescription numbers for the first half of 2024, with numbers jumping 20% in January 2024 compared to December 2023. [The way prescriptions of unlicensed CBPMs are recorded mean there is often a delay in NHS data becoming available, with previous analysis showing these figures can be subject to change up to a year after publication.]
The same request also confirms that the monthly number of NHS unlicensed and private licensed medical cannabis patients is ‘less than five’.
