UK Cannabis: Medical Marijuana Imports Triple, Government Considers Regulating CBD Products As Food

It’s been five years since medical marijuana use has been legal in the United Kingdom and new reports reveal that the import of medical cannabis has tripled in volume this year.

The need for cannabis as medicine was highlighted by two cases involving children with severe epilepsy. One is Billy Caldwell and the other is Alfie Dingley. They were both using cannabis low-dose THC oil to treat their seizures. Thanks to them and their families the need for cannabis as medicine was brought to the public, and the UK decided to embrace it in 2018.

Now, data from the Home Office reveals that the need for this medicine is growing. Answering a parliamentary question Chris Philip, the Home Officer minister in charge of medical marijuana told the Commons that starting Jan. 2023 until 19th Sep. as much as 23,890 kg (52,668 lbs) of cannabis (in base drug form) has been imported. This compares to three times less imported in the previous year - or 7,762 kg.

“While the regulatory and policy environment remains challenging, it is positive to see this notable growth in the amount of imported medical cannabis," said Cannabis Industry Council CEO Mike Morgan-Giles. "This indicates that awareness of cannabis medicines is increasing and prescription patient numbers are rising. We hope this momentum will continue, ideally alongside growth in the UK cannabis market – which will help boost the economy and create jobs.”

See Also: Hope For Patients: UK Bill Enabling General Practitioners To Prescribe Medical Marijuana

One of the first commercial growers of high-THC cannabis flower for lawful third parties to produce cannabis-based products for medical use, Glass Pharms, also revealed that the market is now worth around £143 million ($174 million) per year. According to estimates, there are around 30,000 to 32,000 medical marijuana patients in the UK. Medical marijuana patients can access these products only through private clinics where they need to pay for the medicine.

While it is possible to access medical marijuana through the NHS, this rarely occurs and only in extremely severe cases of epilepsy, chemotherapy-caused nausea or certain cases of muscle stiffness associated with MS. Since medical marijuana is not widely available via the NHS, many families struggle to afford life-saving medicine for their children.

See Also: Only Cannabis Stops Harry's Constant Seizures, Says Mom, He Gets It For Free Thanks To 'I Am Billy Campaign'

Government Accepts New ACMD Recommendations For CBD

Meanwhile, last week, the UK Home Office accepted recommendations from the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in relation to the levels of controlled cannabinoids in consumer CBD products.

Accepted recommendations include the following:

• The dose of each controlled phytocannabinoid should not exceed 50 micrograms per unit of consumption. 
• That regulatory authorities ensure that any consumer product permitted to market has limits on the content of controlled phytocannabinoids such that the dose of delta-9-THC (including its precursor delta-9-THCA) and each of the other controlled phytocannabinoids does not exceed 50 micrograms per unit of consumption.
• A further inter-laboratory comparison trial (ring trial) should be commissioned specifically to support the capability of testing laboratories to detect controlled phytocannabinoids below the recommended maximum levels in a representative range of consumer products.
• The recommends changing the first limb of exempt product definition to refer to the ‘preparation or other product containing the controlled drug’ rather than the ‘controlled drug’ except for ‘research’ purposes as defined in Schedule Two of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016

The last recommended change could lead to CBD products being recognized as food and further regulated under Food Law by the FSA, instead of the current Misuse of Drugs Act and the Home Office, writes Business of Cannabis.

In the U.S., Donald Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Act 2018) five years ago, effectively legalizing hemp and hemp-derived products on the federal level. While the bill made it clear that plants to be considered hemp and not marijuana could have only 0.3% delta 9 THC, other important and related matters were not defined. For example, the legislation did not designate hemp-derived products – are they food, are they supplements? Without this, how are they going to be regulated?

All eyes are now on the 2023 Farm Bill, which was supposed to be submitted by the end of the year, but it might have to get a deadline extension.

Can you bet which country will be the first to regulate CBD products as food?

See Also: UK Slashes Acceptable Daily Intake Of CBD In Foods To 10Mg: Why & How Will This Affect The Sector?

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Everton Nobrega and Alesia Kozik via Pexels