Scotland’s First Patients Are Prescribing Legal Cannabis – Finally!

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Fresh Toast.

A few hundred years ago my Cowan ancestor got on a boat in Scotland and headed west. I was in Edinburgh during the winter so I am grateful to him for many reasons.

A Report from the BBC reminded me of another reason.

The BBC reported: “Scotland’s first medical cannabis clinic has started prescribing patients with chronic pain conditions … The Sapphire Medical Clinic in Stirling was approved by regulators in March and … offers unlicensed cannabis-based drugs to people with medical conditions that do not meet the criteria for cannabis products prescribed by the NHS … Medical cannabis was legalized in the UK in November 2018 and doctors are allowed to prescribe it in certain situations. “

“The 2018 amendment moved cannabis from List 1 to Schedule 2 under the 2001 Drug Abuse Ordinance – meaning it had no therapeutic value. This now means doctors can prescribe the drug in certain situations … privately prescribed.”

SEE: UK data shows the marijuana ban is a racially counterproductive scam

A spokesman for Healthcare Improvement Scotland said: Unauthorized cannabis-based medicinal products should be prescribed by medical specialists “when there is clear published evidence of the benefit” and when there is “a clinical need that cannot be met by approved drugs and when established drugs are exhausted”.“.

Photo by LPETET / Getty Images

In other words, when patients have suffered enough, they are allowed to try cannabinoids.

I would cheer “Scotland forever! ”… if it hadn’t taken forever.

There are millions of Americans like me whose ancestors came from this island and are essentially “bioidentical” with the otherwise free Scottish people who suffered for years before politicians and bureaucrats decided they were worthy of a void.

The statement added: “Independent clinics must ensure that adequate consultations are held, that clinicians make informed assessments, that patient consent is obtained in accordance with law and professional guidelines, and that patients understand the risks and benefits of a treatment or medication.

“In addition, clinicians should make it clear to patients if there is limited evidence that the chosen treatment is effective.”

Hey, have you ever heard of the USA, Canada or the Netherlands? Apparently not.

It was February 2002 when I was visiting Edinburgh, Scotland’s beautiful capital, where I met Kevin Williamson, a very bright, personable guy who is a fixture in Edinburgh’s literary scene. He was also a drug policy adviser to the Scottish Socialist Party. (Cannabis is probably the only thing we agreed on!)

Photo by thegoodphoto / Getty Images

He was planning to open a Dutch-style café and had just returned from a visit to Haarlem, where our mutual friend, the late Nol van Schaik, had three stores.

The Guardian would report later in the year: Rebel publisher plans cannabis café; he got Trainspotting to print, and now he wants an urban retreat for Britain’s dope smokers.

Unfortunately, Williamson never got the nod from the Edinburgh police. Almost twenty years later, a clinic is only now able to give sick people access to cannabinoids.

Scotland meanwhile has a real problem with really dangerous drugs.

LOOK: Combat Benzodiazepines and Their Role in Scotland’s Death

The number of drug-related deaths is staggering, and cannabis, of course, is not listed.

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh reported: Drug deaths in Scotland: an increasingly medical problem.

Yes, really?!?

“On December 15, 2020, the National Records of Scotland reported that the number of registered drug-related deaths in Scotland was 1,264 in 2019, up 6% from 2018 when 1,187 drug-related deaths were recorded1. The 6% increase didn’t surprise many experts, some of whom had previously warned of an expected surge in drug-related deaths for 2019. More importantly, the 2018 numbers – published in July 2019 – were 27% higher than the previous year (2017) and the highest at this point since records began in 1996. ”

But you have to be very careful with cannabis.

Richard Cowan is a former NORML National Director and author of Is The Hemp CBD Industry Sustainable?