Author: News Room

When their son was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, Jessica and Simon Edwards turned to cannabis. They have chosen to share their story to address the stigma around its use in paediatric cancer. James Edwards was beautiful and full of life. He found joy in everything, sitting for hours completing jigsaw puzzles aimed at children twice his age. At the age of four he was a talented artist, one of his paintings was even included in the Young Artist Summer Show at the Royal Academy of Arts earlier this year. James was two-and-a half years old when he first began developing…

Virginia hemp stakeholders have failed in their attempts to sideline a bill that bans delta-8 THC, and sets strict limits on total THC levels in hemp food products. Both houses of the state legislature have now approved Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s revised version of the bill, which only awaits his signature. The hemp measure, Senate Bill 903 (SB 903), grew mainly out of lawmakers’ concerns over the proliferation of products containing delta-8 THC, a synthetic compound derived from hemp-based CBD which has proven a popular alternative to marijuana in Virginia and across the U.S. But stakeholders said restrictions on food products…

Ben Stevens of BusinessCann interviews Chairperson of the European Pirate Party Mikuláš Peksa, who will be speaking at Cannabis Europa London 2023. Can you begin by telling us a bit about your background and your role in European government? My name is Mikuláš Peksa, and by original training I studied biophysics at Charles University in Prague. But later on, I moved into politics and was elected to the National Parliament and subsequently to the European Parliament on behalf of the Czech Pirate Party, and currently I’m serving as a chairperson of the European Pirate Party.  Can you tell us a bit more…

Ben Stevens caught up with Mr Fugazza, who will be speaking at Cannabis Europa London 2023 on May 2-3, to discuss the stigma around hemp. Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and the work you do within UNCTAD? UNCTAD is not necessarily a well-known agency. Actually, it’s part of the UN Secretariat, and it stands for UN Conference on Trade and Development. So, what we’re doing here is essentially dealing with trade and development-related issues.  Personally, I’m a research economist, specialising mostly in international trade, but also, to some extent, labour markets, and what I’ve been…

A new paper highlights what UK patients would like to see prioritised as research around cannabis and its therapeutic potential develops. The research around cannabis for medicinal purposes is rapidly expanding, with a record number of papers published in 2021. However, to date the majority of the agendas have been set by the industry or academia, rather than those who have lived-experience of the treatment as a patient or carer. In a first for the field, scientists aimed to tackle this by asking patients directly what they deem to be important areas for further research moving forward.  A team of researchers associated with Sapphire…

As a medical cannabis patient you have the right to fulfil your prescription through any pharmacy which is dispensing cannabis products in the UK. Here’s how it works.  So you’ve chosen a clinic, completed an eligibility assessment and had an initial consultation. What happens now? Once your doctor has assessed whether cannabis is the right option for you, and written a prescription, it will need to be processed by an appropriate pharmacy.  However, patients do not have to use the pharmacy which is recommended by their clinic or doctor.  You can ask for a copy and take it to any pharmacy which is dispensing…

A new study has found medical cannabis to be a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain in older adults.  In a paper published last month, researchers in Canada assessed the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis products in a group of patients aged 65 or older.  All of the participants were authorised to consume cannabis medicinally through Canadian health clinics. Consistent with other studies, the findings suggest that cannabis was safe, well-tolerated, and associated with meaningful reductions in pain, when used over a three-month period. No serious adverse events were reported, and ‘non-serious’ adverse events were experienced in less than 12%…

Researchers in the UK are hoping to demonstrate how medical cannabis could be introduced into the NHS at “net-zero” cost. Researchers in the UK are hoping to fund a major health economic study which could demonstrate the cost benefits of making cannabis more widely available on the NHS. The research sub-group of the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC), has been working on developing a full health economic analysis on medical cannabis and chronic pain, which it expects to prove that introducing cannabis to the NHS will be cost-effective. An early economic modelling tool will be used to consider the costs, resource use and…

A former police officer says medical cannabis has helped him reclaim his life after a diagnosis of PTSD – now he’s helping to educate others in the force.  Retired police officer, Craig, wants to help improve the understanding and awareness of medical cannabis among police in the UK. The 53-year-old has had a prescription for cannabis himself for around two years, which he says has changed his life “dramatically” since being diagnosed with PTSD in 2010. “A retired cop on cannabis – it’s a great story,” jokes Craig, who is dad to nine and 12-year-old boys. “Since I have had a prescription,…

Everything you need to know, including a step-by-step guide, for anyone interested in accessing a prescription for medical cannabis in the UK. So you’ve heard about medical cannabis and think it could be a beneficial treatment for you? You probably have a lot of questions, like, am I eligible for a prescription? How much will it cost? And how can I get one? Medical cannabis has been legal in the UK since November 2018, when prescribed by a specialist doctor, with around 20,000 patients now thought to hold prescriptions.  Unfortunately cannabis is not yet widely available on the NHS. However,…