Legalise medicinal cannabis plans 'not a priority' for IOM

Laws to allow for the cultivation and export of medicinal cannabis were approved in January

Focussing on dealing with the ongoing Covid pandemic has meant plans to allow doctors on the Isle of Man to prescribe medicinal cannabis have been paused.

Health Minister David Ashford said while it was "still on the agenda", the health department was currently "stretched" by the impact of the virus.

Mr Ashford said there were currently "greater priorities" than introducing new cannabis legislation on the island.

Reticence by GPs to prescribe products was also a stumbling block, he added.

While a consultation in 2019 found strong public support for medicinal cannabis, Mr Ashford said only two of 19 GPs who responded to a recent consultation had indicated "a positive interest" in prescribing cannabis-based medicinal products.

There was no point in changing the law "if you don't have people willing to prescribe the product", he said.

'Stretched'

Douglas South MHK Claire Christian called for the island to follow the model operating in Jersey, where a small number of GPs at clinics can offer the drug.

Under UK rules, only those on a specialist register can prescribe medicinal cannabis.

Mr Ashford said while the possibility of adopting the Jersey model had initially been considered in November, other pressures at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) meant the issue could not currently be looked at "in a proper way".

As well as dealing with the impact of the pandemic and the roll-out of the vaccination programme, the department is also progressing plans for the creation of a new Manx Care body, which is due to come into operation next month.

Mr Ashford said: "With everything else that DHSC is doing at the moment - we are absolutely stretched to the hilt - something has to give, or the department will give.

"To be quite blunt, there are other things taking a higher priority."