Cannabis
Unlicensed CBPMs - a timeline of the path to access.
NICE clarify CBPM guidance - there is “no recommendation against” appropriate prescribing.
Backbench Business Committee debate on the use of medical cannabis for the alleviation of health conditions.
Jeff Smith MP proposes “Medical Cannabis Access” Bill.
(2021)
The CDPRG publishes The UK Review of Medicinal Cannabis, detailing regulatory framework and policy for cannabis-based medicines.
(2020)
Public Health England publishes Barriers to Access report.
(2019)
Crispin asks Urgent Question regarding Alfie Dingley.
Hannah Deacon (Alfie’s mum) meets the Prime Minister.
Alfie is granted Schedule 1 licenses.
CBPMs rescheduled.
(2018)
Paul Flynn MP introduces ‘Legalisation of Cannabis (Medicinal Purposes) Bill.
(2017)
APPG for Drug Policy Reform publishes Cannabis: the Evidence for Medicinal Use.
(2016)
APPG for Drug Policy Reform publishes Regulating Cannabis for Medicinal Use in the UK.
(2015)
CBD - a timeline of the pathway to a regulated market.
UPCOMING
Home Office (HO) reply to the AMCD awaited.
2022
APPG on CBD gathers and presents industry views.
2021
APPG for CBD formed.
Further meetings with the Food Standards Authority and HO.
In-depth CDPRG report on regulatory issues and “zero-threshold” sent to ACMD.
Meetings with FSA and HO.
2020
Home Office commissions ACMD to report on legal, regulated CBD market.
Following discussions with the CDPRG and Home Office, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) granted cannabis companies an environment where they can list in the London stock exchanges, not withstanding PoCA.
Crispin Blunt writes to the Prime Minister and other relevant Ministers about regulatory issues and opportunities.
WPQ reveals that HO has no defined “zero-threshold.”
CDPRG briefs the Prime Minister and Home Office ahead of the UK vote at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs on controlled cannabinoids in CBD products.
We believe CBD regulation, just like all regulation in the drug policy space, should be evidence-based. With so many incongruencies and unsubstantiated assumptions in the existing UK CBD regulatory environment, CDPRG is leading the campaign to enable:
An evidence-based approach to the benefits and risks of both isolate and full spectrum CBD products; and
A sensible regulatory environment that is informed by the evidence and does not place arbitrary barriers on UK CBD industry and its consumers who benefit from this product.
Cannabinoids
What are cannabinoids?
Compounds found in cannabis are called cannabinoids. There are at least 144 different cannabinoids which have been isolated from cannabis or hemp plants, and more are still being discovered. Each cannabinoid has unique properties and effects, and these can modulate according to how they are combined with one another. There is research which suggests that certain combinations of cannabinoids produce what has come to be called the ‘entourage effect,’ delivering an overall therapeutic benefit together which is greater than the sum of their individual parts.
Of the many non-psychoactive cannabinoids that have been discovered, the cannabinoid most prominently featured in wellness research and development is cannabidiol (CBD); one of the most widely known cannabinoids found in plants, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Other cannabinoids increasingly present in over-the-counter and prescription cannabinoid-based medications include cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabichromene (CBC).
The burgeoning cannabinoid industry
Clinical research into cannabis and hemp-derived medicines is rapidly advancing around the world, increasingly indicating new possible clinical applications for CBD and other non-psychoactive cannabinoids, especially in relation to their various anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and muscle relaxant effects. These discoveries feed directly into the development of new cannabinoid-containing products catering to specific conditions. Correspondingly, the global cannabinoid industry is blossoming. As the public demand grows for medical-grade cannabinoid-containing healthcare products produced with integrity, cultivators and distributors around the world are rising to the challenge of supplying it.
Led by our unremunerated Chairman Crispin Blunt MP and Policy Council, the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group consults with stakeholders at the cutting-edge of cannabinoid science from across the international landscape, to inform Government policy relating to CBD and other non-psychoactive cannabinoids. We continue to make recommendations on cannabinoid policy to ensure the evidence-based regulation of the cannabinoid industry, especially as the UK establishes new legislative frameworks for cannabinoids following Brexit, and to facilitate other nations’ regulatory environments advances as they too react to the emerging evidence.
About cannabidiol (CBD)
The best pharmacologically understood non-psychoactive cannabinoid is cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is the key focus to date of cannabinoid research and development and the bedrock if the resultant industry.
CBD-containing products are sought for a number of different symptoms and health problems.
As the workings of cannabidiol (CBD) in the human body becomes increasingly clinically understood, development possibilities in CBD wellness will continue to evolve. DrugScience’s ProjectTwenty21, for instance; Europe’s first and biggest national medical cannabis registry, led by CDPRG Policy Council member Prof. David Nutt; are monitoring the efficacy of CBD-only and CBD-rich projects in mitigating substance-use disorder.
Books By THE CDPRG Policy Council on CBD
Two excellent introductions to CBD and cannabinoid wellness were authored by members of the CDPRG’s Policy Council in 2020. Dr. Dani Gordon is a double board certified medical doctor, integrative medicine physician and world-leading expert in CBD and cannabis medicine. Dr. Julie Moltke is a medical doctor with a focus on mental health, stress management, sleep, and the medicinal cannabis industry.
Law, drug policy and human rights specialist Dr. Melissa Bone’s 2019 book focuses extensively on international regulations on cannabis based medicine and their respective impacts on wellbeing.
Dr. Julie Moltke (Hachette, June 2020)
Dr. Melissa Bone (Routledge, October 2019)
Dr. Dani Gordon (Orion Spring, July 2020)
“CBD can be an amazing preventative medicine tool. Thanks to its potent anti-inflammatory and stress-reducing properties, it may even help prevent health issues that arise due to unchecked chronic inflammation and stress, the perfect botanical helper for modern life.”
Working With the CDPRG
The CDPRG is a not-for-profit, politically unaffiliated and non-governmental organisation dedicated to advancing evidence-based drug policy reform for the public good. Our supporters enable our research work to advance evidence based policy.
Benefitting from the natural overlap with delivering public good through evidence based reform our collaborators receive tailored advice, including specialised regulatory, medical and industry-related expertise from our team.. This facilitates their growth and in turn the flourishing of the UK’s medical cannabis and cannabinoid markets, ensuring that these are populated by quality suppliers operating with integrity and substantiated by research while at the same time allowing the CDPRG to identify further opportunities for sensible regulation in the UK’s drug policy space.
Our Supporters
We are delighted to be supported by pioneering organisations within the drug policy and medicinal cannabis space, including Botanica, Cannex, HavnLife, JPD Capital, Supreme, BrainsBioceutical, and Zenabis, with several more key players from the international landscape joining us in 2022. (See a full list of our supporting companies.)
In illustration of our fruitful consultancy collaborations, on 17 December 2020, CDPRG collaborator Brains Bioceutical Corp successfully obtained a Home Office Schedule 1 Controlled Drug License, meaning that the Company will now be allowed to handle and process products containing THC. We look forward to continuing to work on licensing refinement with Brains as they build on this success in 2021.
The CDPRG Limited. operates with full transparency in all operations including our financial structure. A full catalogue of past investment can be accessed on Companies House, last updated on 23 September 2020.
Get in ToucH
To meet our dedicated team, and explore ways of working together to achieve your aims, while furthering cannabis policy changes for the public good.