Hospital Sets Out Cannabis Rules

Noble’s Hospital has a formal policy in place governing the use of cannabis-based medicinal products for patients admitted for treatment.

Responding to questions during Tuesday’s Tynwald sitting, Health and Social Care Minister Claire Christian said the policy, issued in January 2025 and currently under review, sets out how patients who are prescribed medicinal cannabis products may continue their treatment while in hospital.

The hospital policy divides cannabis-based medicinal products into three categories. These include licensed medicines with UK or international marketing authorisation, specialist prescribed medicines manufactured under recognised quality standards, and unlicensed products which do not meet those standards.

The Minister said patients already prescribed licensed cannabis-based medicines through NHS specialists would generally continue to receive them during admission.

Specialist category two products may be brought into hospital by patients but are stored as controlled drugs and recorded in hospital registers. In some cases, patients may be allowed to self-administer these medicines under supervision, provided they are appropriately labelled, in date and deemed clinically suitable.

‘These medicines will be stored according to their legal class,’ Ms Christian said.

‘If the medicine is to be smoked or vaped, these forms are not supported for self-administration on site, as the hospital is a no smoking facility, and both forms could result in staff or other patients passively inhaling the product.’

However, it was confirmed that in some circumstances, arrangements may be made for patients to be accompanied outside the hospital building to use vaping or smoking products, depending on clinical condition and staff availability.

Ms Christian acknowledged the complexity of existing hospital policies and said Manx Care is aiming to improve clarity by publishing key policies in plain language for patients and the public.

‘We are gradually picking the most important [policies] and looking to get those published, but there are 500 to 600 of them to go through,’ she said.