As of Jan. 1, U.K. prescriptions are no longer recognized in the Netherlands. With many families travelling to the country to get private cannabis prescriptions filled — and Dutch law requiring a valid prescription to export cannabis products —Deacon says they were given two weeks’ notice about the change and she only found out because letters were sent to stakeholders and campaign groups and clinics within the sector, not to the families directly impacted.
The hesitancy to prescribe medical cannabis products under the NHS stems from a few issues, Deacon explains, but mainly the fact that the NHS is built on a pharmaceutical model and randomized clinical trials. Cannabis, with its hundreds of compounds, doesn’t quite fit into that framework.Article content
One organization working to challenge those perceptions, and provide independent, evidence-based information on cannabis and other drugs is Drug Science, founded in 2010 by Professor David Nutt, a former government drug adviser. Up to 20,000 patients are “It’s not as easy as just swapping someone from one thing to another and hoping for the best, especially with refractory epilepsy where seizures can kill you,” Deacon adds.