Deputy warns illegal medicine trade is a 'problem'

A scrutiny panel heard there were more than 1,500 monthly medicinal cannabis prescriptions in Guernsey

The vice-president of the Health and Social Care Committee (HSC) has warned Guernsey has a problem with prescription drugs being passed on illegally.

Deputy Marc Leadbeater, who is also a director of a local cannabis cultivation firm, told a scrutiny hearing he was concerned about reports of medicinal cannabis being handed on to people.

He stressed this was only part of the issue and said he believed other medicines were being handed on as well.

"It's not a new problem, it's an age old problem in Guernsey," he said.

HSC Vice-President Marc Leadbeater, second from left, said he was concerned about prescription drugs being passed on illegally

States of Guernsey chief pharmacist Teena Bhogal said "prescription diversion" was an issue which the HSC had raised with her.

"I've been doing a lot of work trying to grab the data, as I need factual information to make informed decisions," he said.

Under questioning from Education, Sport and Culture President Andrea Dudley-Owen, Ms Bhogal said there was "an issue with young people accessing cannabis".

"We've encouraged agencies involved in safeguarding to report these issues to us so we have a clearer picture of the problem," she said.

"We are collating the data and we have a working group which will look at that."

Mr Leadbeater said the issue was not limited to cannabis and authorities needed to look at "wider diversion".

"We have spoken about it with the chief pharmacist, but we have been reassured that the prescription rates for some of the more dangerous medicines have gone down," he said.

"We don't have a problem with heroine addiction in Guernsey, we have a problem with people being addicted to opioid addiction replacement therapies."

Cannabis use 'underestimated'

When asked about the current number of people using medicinal cannabis locally, Mr Leadbeater said officers had "dramatically underestimated the amount of people interested in procuring medicinal cannabis".

The deputy said the last time he looked there were around 1,550 Guernsey-based medicinal cannabis patients getting the drug from local clinics, with 100 people using UK-based pharmacies.

Mrs Dudley-Owen asked whether there had been increased incidences of psychosis, but Mr Leadbeater said the data was not currently collected.

He added he hoped it would be in the future.