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Whilst there are many countries in Europe where possession of cannabis is decriminalized, such as Czech Republic, Switzerland, Spain and The Netherlands, in the UK, possession of the Class B drug is still illegal. It is expected, however, that the laws around cannabis may be relaxed within the UK, as in November 2018, specialist doctors were given the go ahead to prescribe cannabis-derived medicines.A recent study showed that despite 72% of UK citizens with a disability or chronic illness claiming they experienced a great improvement to their symptoms when using cannabis, 43% of those suffering from medical conditions do not use cannabis to relieve their symptoms or pains, due to the drug being illegal. The same study also showed that 54% of people living in the UK with a chronic illness, believed they should be legally allowed to purchase cannabis to help relieve symptoms.A drug that contains two chemical extracts derived from the cannabis plant, called Sativex has previously received regulatory approval, but only available through private prescription in England. Used to treat epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, the drug is now available via NHS prescription.It is expected that pharmaceutical companies will use cannabis to develop even more products which will help treat rare and catastrophic illnesses and conditions. So, it can be expected that the UK will follow in the footsteps of countries such as the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Croatia which have legalized cannabinoids for medicinal use.In this article, we explore how the use of cannabis within UK pharmaceuticals is expected to change, as well as the medicinal benefits offered by cannabis, and #cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids can be classified in three groups: phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids, and synthetic analogues of both groups. There are many companies out there which are dedicated to developing and commercializing cannabis-based products and cannabinoid medicines, which will help with health issues such as skin conditions, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), and pain.
#cannabinoids, #MS, #MultipleSclerosis, #Sativex, #NHS, #UK, #Europe, #Cannabis