Medicinal cannabis dispensing on Isle of Man further delayed

No new start date has been set for the year-long pilot dispensing scheme

The dispensing of medicinal cannabis products on the Isle of Man has been further delayed, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.

The products had originally been due to be available to those with private prescriptions by the end of the summer.

However, "technical issues" between the department and the UK Home Office over the movement of the products have stalled the roll out.

No new date has been set for the service to start.

Dispensing services by Karson's Pharmacy were initially pushed back until the end of October.

However, in a statement the health department said it was with "regret and frustration that the outstanding technical issues" had not been "fully resolved".

"The Department is working to find a solution to satisfy the Home Office with regards to the movement of CBMP products to the Island - as all parties must adhere to duties and declarations under the UN convention," it continued.

Once those issues had been resolved the Onchan outlet would "be able to formalise arrangements with UK wholesalers and commence the service", it added.

Karson's Pharmacy was awarded the island's first licence to import and dispense medicinal cannabis products as part of a year-long trial in June.

Medicinal cannabis is not currently available on the Manx NHS and there are no government GPs registered to prescribe it.