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For the first time in the UK, the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society has today published an independent step-by-step guide to becoming a medical cannabis prescriber.

Available at www.ukmccs.org/prescribing, the Society’s expert committee brought together information from the Government, the NHS, NICE, Royal Colleges, licensed producers of medical cannabis products and training providers into one place for the first time, giving doctors a clear and rational route to prescribe.

Since medical cannabis was made legal in November 2018, the number of prescriptions for the treatment have remained extremely low as clinicians struggle to understand Government regulations and various guidelines issued by numerous bodies. Only around 50 people have benefitted from medical cannabis prescriptions, mostly in the private sector, since then.

The guide for clinicians is a roadmap to help you navigate the information currently available, developed by doctors who have now begun seeing the benefits of this treatment with their own patients in the UK. In conjunction with the peer support offered by membership of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, this step-by-step guide – which will be regularly updated – provides doctors with the support and guidance required to begin prescribing.

In February, we will re-issue our own official guidance – Recommendations and Guidance on Medical Cannabis under Prescription, version 2, to support this prescribing information.

All information is correct at the time of writing (Jan 2020) and will be updated regularly. If you would like to suggest changes, additions or amendments to the published information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Share your feedback or request information and we will do our best to incorporate it into future versions.

You can also sign up as a member for just £90 per year.  If you’re not a clinician but want to know more then please sign up to our mailing list for regular updates.

The work of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society is made possible by unrestricted educational grant funding from our supporters. Find out more about becoming a supporter.

This week (Wednesday 13 November) we proudly bought together leading Medical Cannabis experts and healthcare professionals to our conference, ‘Medical Cannabis in Practice: Prescribing, practicalities and the patient experience’.

During the event, doctors pledged to become medical cannabis prescribers, to access education and explore and contribute to the evidence base for medical cannabis treatments at our first annual conference in London.

We welcomed attendees from across the sector who were interested in learning more about access to Medical Cannabis in the UK today and the day provided attendees with a practical insight into medical cannabis, discussed the global position of the drug’s evidence, the UK regulatory space, efficacy, research and the impact on patients.

Speakers included one of the industry’s leading experts, Professor David Nutt of DrugScience. He discussed the charity’s newly launched Project Twenty21 trial – Europe’s first and biggest national medical cannabis registry of 20,000 patients, creating the largest body of evidence for the effectiveness and tolerability of medical cannabis.

Professor Mike Barnes provided an introduction to medical cannabis and explored the global evidence and Executive Director Hannah Deacon talked about the frustrations in fighting for access of the drug for her son, Alfie Dingley. Dr Dani Gordon advised delegates on understanding and navigating medical cannabis and CBD treatments.

Dr Liz Iveson, complex care specialist and prescribing doctor shared stories of patients she is successfully treating with medical cannabis and Dr Leon Barron provided insights into the role of the GP in this space.

Professor Mike Barnes, Chair of the UK Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, said: “We were pleased to welcome clinicians, healthcare and industry professionals to this conference that not only educated attendees on all the latest from the Medical Cannabis sector but provided a call to action for doctors to learn more about the life-changing benefits of this treatment.”

Supporting the conference were CiiTECH Ltd, a cannabis biotech company that focuses on discovering, developing and commercialising cannabinoid products for the global market and the leading Australian medical cannabis manufacturer, Little Green Pharma, who are now supplying the European medical cannabis market.

The MCCS is made up of some of the most respected medical cannabis clinicians in the country and ensure that clinicians have access to evidence, education, training, guidance and support to enable them to prescribe medical cannabis to patients who could benefit from this life-changing treatment.

Thank you to those who attended our conference, keep up to date on our website and social media channels for news of future events, workshops and conferences. You can also sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know more.

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