A medicinal cannabis card was issued in the UK today, making it easy for drug-possessed patients to prove they are not breaking the law.
The card, which is the same size as a driver’s license or bank card, shows the patient’s name, photo, date of birth and address.
You can also scan a QR code to instantly show that you legally have a prescription.
The cards are provided by Releaf, a cannabis prescription website that says customers can show the cards to police officers who question cannabis use.
The launch will take place on April 20th, the international day to celebrate cannabis. On this day, drug enthusiasts descend on parks around the world to light them up.
Medical cannabis cards display the patient’s name, photo, and a QR code that can be scanned to show they have a prescription.
The card is offered by Releaf (pictured), a cannabis prescribing website, and allows customers to present the card to police officers who question cannabis use.
The Nottingham-based company says its cards will give patients the confidence to use their medication “whenever and wherever they need it”.
It is currently illegal to own, grow, distribute or sell cannabis in the UK.
Police can impose an on-the-spot fine of £90 for possession of class B drugs. again, Up to five years in prison, unlimited fines, or both.
Penalties vary depending on the amount of drug, where it was found, criminal record, and other aggravating or mitigating factors.
However, some patients can legally access cannabis on the NHS after medical use was legalized in the UK following a groundbreaking review in 2018.
This includes patients with severe epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and adults who suffer from chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea.
Only doctors in specialized hospitals can prescribe it, and even then, it is only prescribed as a last resort when all other treatments have failed.
NHS doctors are reluctant to prescribe it because there is no strong evidence that it helps patients with most diseases.
Private prescriptions costing hundreds of pounds per month are more common.
Physicians on the General Medical Council’s Register of Professional Physicians can legally prescribe cannabis-based products. Health chiefs have warned that the NHS should follow a narrow approach and only provide medicines to a small number of patients.
People who have been prescribed cannabis by a doctor should prove that they already have a prescription by keeping the drug in its original packaging and having a copy of the prescription and a letter from the doctor who prescribed it. can.
Patients may also be required to present identification that matches information on other documents, such as a passport or driver’s license.
But Releaf says its new card contains all this information, including what was prescribed, the patient’s condition, and the doctor who prescribed it.
It displays the patient’s full name, address, photo, and QR code, giving police “all the information they need” to verify that they are registered as a cannabis patient.
The card also includes a 24-hour helpline that the police can call.
The Nottingham-based company says its cards will give patients the confidence to use their medication “whenever and wherever they need it.”
Releaf customers can access the card by setting up a subscription on the website. It starts at £3.25 per day for 20g and is valid for the same period as your prescription.
They can do this only after meeting the criteria for prescribing the drug and being evaluated by a doctor via online or phone appointment.
According to a survey of 4,200 Britons, 4 in 10 Britons know that medical cannabis is legal in the UK.
A quarter also put off using prescription drugs outside the home, and a third were concerned about being mistaken for illegal activity.
Greg de Hoet, a 35-year-old medicinal cannabis patient, is prescribed cannabis to treat symptoms of Crohn’s disease.
“Until now, I was afraid that I would not be able to enter the soccer stadiums and music concerts that I had tickets for, and that my medication would be taken away due to my lack of understanding.
“This will really help reduce stigma and hopefully empower others who can really improve their quality of life by taking medical cannabis and seeing their doctor.”
“This card will ultimately give people who really need medical cannabis the confidence and freedom to take their prescribed medication when they feel the need,” said Stephen D’Souza, Ph.D., clinical director of Releaf. provide and be free from stigma.”
That’s because former Scottish Secretary David Mundell today urged ministers to support the cannabis sector, the ‘industry of the future’.
Rather than “advocate legalizing recreational use,” we want to highlight “opportunities arising from the cultivation and manufacture of medical cannabis-related products.”
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP said:
“It’s called Hilltop Reef and I wanted to highlight the fact that this is a huge industry, a growth industry, an industry of the future because medical cannabis isn’t legal only here in the UK.
“With legalization in many parts of the world, there is a great opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of this industry.
“But unfortunately we make it very difficult.”
Although health benefits are beginning to be used more frequently in UK medicine, there are concerns about recreational use among young people and its impact on mental health.
Ian Hamilton, an addiction expert at the University of York, told MailOnline that the increasing intensity of cannabis puts some users at increased risk.
For those with mental health conditions such as psychosis, frequent use of “potent cannabis” can exacerbate symptoms, he warned.
Hamilton says young people fall into the trap of thinking cannabis is relatively harmless because it’s advertised for its health benefits, unaware that the doses used medically are significantly lower. there is a possibility.
“While many people believe cannabis is non-addictive, research suggests that one in ten regular cannabis users becomes addicted.
“Some of these risks and harms could be addressed if drugs were decriminalized and regulated.
“For example, there will be an opportunity to provide quality control to legally sold cannabis rather than leaving it to the black market.”
But Mr Hamilton said both Conservatives and Labor have denied decriminalization.
Only the Liberal Democrats have made clear their ambition to decriminalize cannabis, so policy is likely to change only if they are included in a coalition government,” he added.
