People get multiple cannabis prescriptions - audit

Some people in Jersey are receiving "multiple prescriptions" of medicinal cannabis from two or more prescribers each month, an audit has found.

The government said 6.08% of the working age population was being prescribed cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs), which was "notably higher" than the UK's 0.05%.

GPs have been able to prescribe CBPMs since 2019, after it was approved by the States Assembly in 2018.

The audit investigated monthly returns provided by pharmacists to the Chief Pharmacist during 2022 and the first six months of 2023.

The audit included only information about private prescriptions of unlicensed medicinal cannabis - one which is not officially licensed by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for the treatment of a particular health condition.

Deputy Steve Luce, the minister for the environment with additional responsibility for health, said the difference when compared to the UK was "significant".

He said: "The audit also suggests that some people are receiving multiple prescriptions at levels which may be harmful to their health, this is of significant concern.

"I am, therefore, committed to developing the legislation necessary to regulate and inspect cannabis clinics in Jersey.”

Minister for Health and Social Services Tom Binet said the government needed to regulate cannabis clinics.

He added there was also a need to "facilitate the sharing of accurate, timely information to aid cannabis clinics in their prescription decisions and to ensure that patients’ GPs have access to necessary information".

The audit also found that some multiple prescriptions were for amounts that could "reasonably be assumed to be for more than one month’s supply of medicinal cannabis", which the government said was not in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or NHS guidelines.

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