MPs call for medical cannabis to be made legal
Taking cannabis for medical reasons should be made legal, says a cross-party group of UK politicians.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform says there is clear evidence cannabis could have a therapeutic role for some conditions, including chronic pain and anxiety.
It says tens of thousands of people in the UK already break the law to use the drug for symptom relief.
But the Home Office says there are no plans to legalise the "harmful drug."
'I know cannabis is illegal, but it is medicinal'
Plant cannabis contains more than 60 chemicals.
The All Party Parliamentary Group wants the Home Office to reclassify herbal cannabis under existing drug laws, from schedule one to schedule four.
This would put it in the same category as steroids and sedatives and mean doctors could prescribe cannabis to patients, and chemists could dispense it.
Patients might even be allowed to grow limited amounts of cannabis for their own consumption.
Cannabis plant
People with multiple sclerosis can legally take a cannabis-based medicine.
This licensed medicine, called Sativex, is a mouth spray and contains two chemical extracts (THC and CBD) derived from the cannabis plant.
Under current laws in England and Wales, cannabis is not recognised as having any therapeutic value and anyone using the drug, even for medical reasons, could be charged for possession.
The NHS warns that cannabis use carries a number of risks, such as impairing the ability to drive, as well as causing harm to lungs if smoked and harm to mental health, fertility or unborn babies.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform took evidence from 623 patients, representatives of the medical professions and people with knowledge of how medical cannabis was regulated across the world.