Health
400 Accessing Medicinal Cannabis
The prescriptions are not available on the NHS, it is a private service provided under licence by Karson’s Pharmacy.
Over 1,300 medicinal cannabis prescriptions have been dispensed since last December.
The prescriptions are not available on the NHS, it is a private service provided under licence by Karson’s Pharmacy.
Speaker Juan Watterson asked Health Minister Lawrie Hooper how many prescriptions had been fulfilled and how the service was regulated.
Mr Hooper said that, at the time of writing, 1,329 prescriptions had been dispensed to a total number of 395 patients.
He said: ‘As this is a private service, not an NHS service, the dispensing fee is set by the dispensing pharmacy. Currently, Karson’s Pharmacy is the only island based pharmacy granted a licence to dispense Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use (CBPM) following a competitive procurement exercise. The fee is not regulated, as it is a private service.
‘In regards to product quality, the regulation and licensing of unlicensed CBPMs in the UK are undertaken by the Home Office, UK Department of Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’
He added: ‘The CBPM service on the Island is not available on the NHS and therefore individuals are responsible for paying privately for assessments and all associated prescription and medication costs. As this is not an NHS service, there is no financial support available from the department and the prescription costs are not covered by NHS subsidised prescription charges.’
