I was a child in the 1960s and maybe because of that my perspective of cannabis is one of a leafy plant that when the leaves are dried can be smoked to get high. All sorts of hippy connotations spring to mind. Peace, love and transcendental meditation. In-fact the cannabis plant is a form of the hemp plant and there are many variations available. They tend to be graded by the amount of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol is one of at least 113 cannabinoids identified in cannabis and is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis) and CBD (Cannabidiol) that they contain. The balance of THC and CBD determines the effect of the product. People have been smoking cannabis recreationally for centuries and for many years people have been smoking cannabis to relieve pain associated with a range of illnesses including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and certain cancers. This has blurred the lines between recreational and medicinal use. I want to concentrate on medicinal cannabis. Today throughout the United Kingdom people purchase cannabis based products, oils, sprays and tablets to help alleviate pain. Products can be purchased from such well known outlets as Amazon. They can be delivered to your door and consumed in the privacy of your own home. There is a legal cannabis-derived prescription drug called Sativex (produced by GW Pharmaceuticals) but it is prohibitively expensive and was found to be ‘not sufficiently effective’ by NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). As a result the drug, administered as a spray under the tongue, isn’t available in England and Scotland on the NHS.

But because cannabis is registered as a class B drug under the misuse of drugs act 1971 in the United Kingdom, people buying it or using it are breaking the law and are liable to be prosecuted. The result is that they purchase and consume a product that is not regulated for safety or effectiveness. The outcome can’t be predicted and the cost is entirely at the seller’s discretion.

Medicinal cannabis is legal in 29 of the States of America, Canada, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and many other countries. The laws and application of these laws vary but the premise is the same, medicinal cannabis provides effective help for people who are suffering. Making it legal is a humane thing to do.

In the United Kingdom there have been some high profile cases where legal cannabis has been sought via permission from the Home Office. Cases including Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley. In both these cases young children were suffering seizures which were damaging them. The quantity and severity of these seizures were dramatically decreased through the use of cannabis-derived products. Both families had sought and found such products outside the United Kingdom but could not get access to effective products legally in the United Kingdom. At the time of writing this, Billy’s family have managed to find a doctor that is licensed to and is willing to prescribe THC/CBD and a pharmacist prepared to produce the required medicine. Alfie’s family is still at loggerheads with the Home Office, although they are investigating possibilities. My issue is that there are thousands of Billy’s and Alfie’s. Each with families struggling to find the correct medicines to ease the pain of their loved ones, while knowing that a change in the law would accommodate their needs.

If we were to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes it would be assessed for quality and effectiveness, it would be designed or tailored to specific illnesses, it would be regulated and taxed.

I am not asking for the law to permit people to grow their own weed just as I don’t advocate people having their own gin production facility in their kitchen. I am asking for a legally regulated business that produces medicine in laboratories from the cannabinoids extracted from commercially grown plants. Each product could be designed for a specific illness and the distribution, prescription and use would be monitored and controlled. The UK Government still maintains there is no therapeutic value attached to medicinal cannabis and yet it grants a licence to British Sugar to grow it and provide the raw product to pharmaceutical companies. The UK Government can no longer continue to ride two horses either it’s effective in which case it must be legalised or it’s not in which case we shouldn’t be growing it and selling it to pharmaceutical companies.

The Rail Delivery Group’s initiative, on behalf of train companies, is raising awareness about a travel discount card that helps lower the cost of finding work.

The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card is available to eligible people in Scotland who have been out of work for 12 weeks or longer.  It offers jobseekers a 50% discount on train fares as they travel to interviews, to the Jobcentre or to and from training, for up to three months at a time.

Nationally, between March 2017 and March 2018, 518,822 discounted journeys were made by jobseekers, with 3708 jobseeker journeys being taken using the discount card’s benefits in Inverclyde.

In addition to the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card, ScotRail also offers a Jobseeker scheme.  Under this scheme, they offer the jobseeker up to 2 free tickets a month for travel to interviews and a free monthly season ticket once the jobseeker secures work.

 

The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card: The card provides discounts of 50% on Anytime Day tickets, Off Peak Day tickets, and Season tickets up to three months in duration. The card is valid on all British train operator services and can be used to purchase tickets online, including National Rail Enquiries, at ticket machines and ticket offices. 

 

Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card eligibility: To be eligible for the discount card, one of the following criteria must be satisfied:  

i.          Claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit AND are aged 18-24 and have been unemployed for 13-39 weeks

ii.         Claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit AND are 25 or over and have been unemployed for 13-52 weeks

iii.         Claiming Incapacity Benefit, Employment & Support Allowance or Income Support AND are actively engaged with an advisor in returning to employment

4.         Journey data: we hold information about the number of passenger journeys made using the discount card from between 4 February 2017 and 2 February 2018. Please enquire for sub-regional data.

 

The UK government stance is that they do not acknowledge the therapeutic value of cannabis and yet the UK is the biggest producer and exporter of legal cannabis for medical and scientific use, in the world.

It has been proven that using medical cannabis can be more effective and drastically cheaper than the current prescription drugs. As the acceptance and use spreads across the world ,it is time the UK government changed the law. Granting exemptions one at a time to the most high profile cases will not satisfy the need.

Thousands of people across the UK with a range of conditions could benefit from medical cannabis and it is time the UK government acknowledged that and acted accordingly.

 

I’m deeply disappointed with the Gambling Commissions in their recommendation on the maximum unit stake on FOBTs of £30 or below.  This gives the Government lots of wiggle room to set a level above the £2 stake which I and many of my colleagues have been calling for.

With the bookmakers intensifying their lobbying efforts, there is an even greater need for supporters of a £2 stake to increase pressure on the Government to take the decisive action that is needed to dramatically reduce the stake on these harmful machines.

It’s now up to Matt Hancock to acknowledge the damage these machines do and have the courage to cut the maximum stake to £2.  It’s time the Government got serious on gambling related harm.