Medicinal cannabis has opened a ‘Pandora’s box’, Chief Medical Officer says
The introduction of medicinal cannabis has “opened a Pandora’s box”, with patients believing the drug can cure multiple conditions, the Chief Medical Officer has said.
Dame Sally Davies told MPs that despite being recently legalised for medical use, there is currently insufficient evidence to prove the products are both effective and safe.
She also expressed “concerns” about the safety of the drugs for some patients, warning that until widespread trials had been completed medicinal cannabis should only be prescribed as a “last resort”.
Last week The Telegraph reported a widespread refusal to prescribe the drugs by NHS doctors, despite the change to the law.
Dame Sally recommended relaxing the strict rules on medicinal cannabis, but believes the evidence base for its use is woefully lacking
“I think we have opened a Pandora’s box and there is a belief that it words for many conditions,” she said, adding: “I do have concerns about safety.”
She went on: “THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) we know has an impact on the brain and causes depression, schizophrenia, brain development problems in young and adolescents.
“If a pregnant mother was taking it i’d be very worried. “So we need more data on that.”
“I really hope we can do the [randomised control] trials, because without these how can we help the patients?” she said.
For complete story go to https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/19/medicinal-cannabis-has-opened-pandoras-box-chief-medical-officer/