The Home Office has announced that from 1 November cannabis-derived medicinal products will move from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council (GMC) specialist register to prescribe them. 

Responding to the announcement, Ash Soni, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) said: “This news will be welcomed by many patients with a range of serious health conditions. The prospect of a future where safe and effective licensed cannabis-based medicines can be prescribed to help relieve suffering is genuinely exciting.”  

He added: “As with any changes to pharmacy practice we will support the profession in navigating the new legislation. We will work with the NHS to help and support specialists in making the right prescribing decisions.”

Over 89 per cent of RPS members agreed that cannabis should be rescheduled to allow research to take place when surveyed earlier this year and the three RPS national pharmacy boards also signed a policy statement supporting this, which was submitted to the Home Office for consideration in June.