Medical cannabis products ‘will drive patients to addiction and crime’ and turn doctors into drug dealers, warn experts in scathing letter
- Cannabis oil will become available on the NHS next Thursday, November 1
- A group of 166 pain consultants has written a letter slating the plans
- They say it is being done for political reasons, not based on medical advice
- And patients are already demanding cannabis, losing interest in other treatment
By SAM BLANCHARD HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE 27 October 2018
The legalisation of medical cannabis next month will lead to a crisis of addiction and crime, leading experts have warned.
Doctors will be able to dish out cannabis oils and other products as of November 1 in England, Scotland and Wales.
However, in a scathing letter, 166 pain consultants from across the UK claim they risk ‘becoming drug dealers inadvertently’.
They warned people are already asking for cannabis from their doctors, and worry they will be exploited by drug dealing gangs if they’re turned down by the NHS.
In the letter, they said they support the law change – but wrote: ‘We have suffered an opioid crisis and foresee history about to repeat itself.
Medical cannabis will be available on prescription from the NHS from November 1, but experts say there is not enough evidence to support using it to treat pain conditions (stock image — CBD oil, pictured, is already legal)
‘We are concerned that in the interests of political expediency, this mandate to allow routine prescribing of cannabis for pain relief is premature.
‘That cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain is not supported by the evidence and may be associated with significant harm.’
The letter, signed by Dr Rajesh Munglani, a consultant in pain medicine who has a private practice in Cambridge and London, was sent to The Times.
It warned there is not enough evidence cannabis is effective at treating pain and it could put patients at risk of mental health problems.
For complete article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6319469/Cannabis-oil-drive-people-addiction-crime-experts-warn.html