Thank you for all your emails regarding the medicinal use of cannabis and the case of Alfie Dingley.

The law around drug use is a sensitive issue and I recognise that there are a range of strongly held views on this matter. I have enormous sympathy for anybody with a physical condition seeking the most effective pain relief and I know that several organisations are campaigning for changes in drugs laws, specifically the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.

As you may be aware, there is already a regulatory process in place to enable medicines, including those containing controlled drugs such as cannabis, to be developed and subsequently prescribed and supplied to patients.

On 20 February, there was a statement on the very subject of medicinal cannabis in the Commons. You can read the full transcript in Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-20/debates/5C18DA05-4AF4-408A-A7C2-67F3E84133CC/MedicalCannabis. As you will see from the transcript, this is an issue which is gaining traction and I suspect it will return to the Commons again before long.

Members of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on drug policy reform are calling on the government to assist with Alfie’s plight. I very much welcome the Home Office’s recent announcement that it is considering allowing a medical cannabis trial to treat Alfie’s a rare form of epilepsy.