A call for cannabis research reform in New Zealand: Why real world evidence and patients’ voices matter

Dr Fiona HuttonAssociate Professor at the Institute of CriminologyDirector Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University, Wellington Dr Geoff NollerBioethics Department, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin Alice McSherry Doctoral Candidate at the School of Environment, University of Auckland While cannabis based medicines hold out the promise of much needed relief, at the same  …


Combating the stigma: a T21 success story

By Louise McConnell Although medical cannabis has been legal in the UK for more than four years, there still exists a great deal of stigma and resistance to medical cannabis among many people including healthcare providers. Louise was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at the age of 21, diagnosed with fibromyalgia in her 40s and very recently  …


Parents and scientists back new study into benefits of cannabis-based medications for children with severe epilepsy

Today, on International Epilepsy Day, patient group MedCan Support, scientific body Drug Science and tech-platform Alta Flora announce the launch of an innovative study into prescribed cannabis oil for children with epilepsy. MedCan Support and Drug Science are proud to announce the launch of a pioneering digital study to learn more about the symptoms of  …


How to read a paper on the short-term impairing effects of cannabis: A selective and critical review of the literature

Author Michael A White, Nicholas R Burns Published August 15, 2022 Abstract The prosecution of cannabis-presence driving offences (in the absence of any behavioural evidence of impairment) is ultimately based on the assumption that there is a tight causal relationship between positive toxicology for cannabis and impairment. The main purpose of this review is to  …


Comparative harms assessments for cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco: Risk for psychosis, cognitive impairment, and traffic accident

Author Petter Grahl Johnstad Published July 25, 2022 Abstract Researchers have associated cannabis use with risk for psychosis, cognitive impairment, and traffic accident. However, this review shows that the association between moderate cannabis use and psychosis is no stronger, and often considerably weaker, than the corresponding association for moderate tobacco use. The same holds for  …


Farmability and pharmability: Transforming the drug market to a health-and human rights-centred approach from self-cultivation to safe supply of controlled substances

Authors Fabian Pitter Steinmetz, Maja Kohek Published May 3, 2022 Background The supply chains addressing the global demand for major recreational drugs are hardly addressed due to international contracts, particularly the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Currently applied regulatory changes have several disadvantages ranging from political tensions to the neglect of ecological aspects. The  …


60. Ketamine, Cannabis and Alcohol with Prof Celia Morgan

What do Ketamine, Alcohol and Cannabis all have in common…not much, other than they are all up for discussion in this episode of the Drug Science Podcast! This week we’re talking about ketamine with Professor Celia Morgan, a Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter and the academic lead for Exeter Translational Addiction Partnership  …


Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety - Review

By Dr Michael White – Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, South Australia Marcotte et al. (2022): Per se laws are unjust One of the best cannabis-impairment studies that I have encountered (Marcotte et al., 2022) was published online this week, as an open-access article. You can read it here: Driving Performance and  …


Leading doctors and scientists call for UK paediatricians to recognise the value of medical cannabis for childhood epilepsy

The British Paediatric Neurology Association (BPNA) recently produced new guidance on the prescription of cannabis medicines for children with epilepsy. However, the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (UKMCCS) and Drug Science fundamentally disagree with this guidance. Expert clinicians from both organisations have produced a critique to provide commentary, evidence and further crucial information to guide paediatricians to  …


Legalising Cannabis in Germany - High Ambitions

The 24th of November 2021 was a remarkable day for German drug policy reformers and cannabis enthusiasts. The federal election allowed a coalition to form, which is called the “traffic light coalition” due to the individual parties’ colours. Whilst two parties, the Greens and the FDP, are campaigning for cannabis legalisation for quite a while  …


#49 - Medical Cannabis in the UK with Prof Mike Barnes

 Professor Nutt and Professor Barnes will be talking about medical cannabis. Should our future doctors obtain proper education on how to use botanical medicines? Should we change the way we think about drugs and treatments? Tune into this week’s episode to find out!   Who is Prof Mike Barnes? Professor Mike Barnes is a  …


Building a Career in Drug Science

After hearing feedback about challenges finding career opportunities from the Drug Science Student Society, this webinar provides insight into the careers available in the industries of psychedelics, cannabis, and addiction treatment. With speakers including healthcare workers and both industry and research executives, this webinar will help you find a career working with drugs. With more than  …


‘Cannabis’ ontologies I: Conceptual issues with Cannabis and cannabinoids terminology

Authors: Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli Published: December 29, 2020 Objective Identify a coherent nomenclature for Cannabis sativa L. derived products and their analogues.   Design Research undertaken in parallel to the three-year assessment of Cannabis derivatives by the World Health Organisation. The scope is limited to Cannabis products intended for human incorporation (internal and topical consumption). Primarily  …

New Zealand Cannabis Referendum 2020

By Dr. Meg Spriggs and Professor David Nutt  On October 17th 2020, New Zealanders will be given the opportunity to change the way recreational cannabis use is viewed and treated. At present, recreational cannabis use¹ is illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 (either class B or C depending on its form). Despite this,  …


Medical cannabis in the UK: From principle to practice

Authors: Anne Katrin Schlag, David S Baldwin, Michael Barnes, Steve Bazire, Rachel Coathup, H Valerie Curran, Rupert McShane, Lawrence D Phillips, Ilina Singh, David J Nutt Published: June 10, 2020 Read the full paper here (open access) Drug Science submits it's finding concerning the UK Medical cannabis industry. In our recent peer-reviewed publication, Drug Science  …

#23 - Neuropsychopharmacology

The tables have been turned in this one-off special of the Drug Science podcast. In this episode, Professor David Nutt is interviewed by renowned singer-songwriter – Joss Stone. Professor Nutt is the Chair of the Drug Science Scientific Committee and currently the Edmund J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Head of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit at  …


#8 - Medical Cannabis, Mum and Me

Lucy Stafford is a medical cannabis patient and advocate. Having spent most of her teenage years in severe pain, dependent on opiates and a feeding tube, discovering medical cannabis has transformed her health and quality of life. She is passionate about working towards a healthcare system that integrates the use of medical cannabis in the  …


THC vs Alcohol Impaired Driving

By Dr. Shanna Marrinan   Since the 2nd of March 2015, it has been illegal to drive with predetermined amounts of particular drugs (including legal medications) in your blood. The limits for these legal and illegal drugs can be located in ‘The Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014’ (hereafter the 2014 regulations’). However, a handy  …


#3 - Medicinal Marijuana

Professor David Nutt sits down with Joss Stone, Suzi Gage & Hannah Deacon to discuss the recent progress and biggest issues relating to medicinal cannabis. Many people up and down the country have turned to cannabis to alleviate pain & reduce symptoms of a wide range of ailments. Despite this, the drug still carries hefty penalties  …


Medical Cannabis Education

Drug Science is asked frequently about medical cannabis – what it is, what it can be used for, who can prescribe it and how to regulate it.  We’ve developed different ways to help doctors, patients and professionals understand this complex, emerging field, and our education programmes are central to this MEDIC (Medical Education in Cannabinoids)  …


NICE on cannabidiol for childhood epilepsy

At the end of last week, NICE released their initial appraisal on cannabidiol in the form of Epidiolex for childhood epilepsy.  As predicted by Drug Science experts they found against it on the grounds of cost-benefit. We don’t have the company submission regarding cost/benefit analysis, and consequently cannot comment on those, but we can reflect  …


The Cannabis Society: London Medical Cannabis Conference

Drug Science is delighted to support The Cannabis Society Medical Conference, being held on 24th June in Central London. The Cannabis Society is dedicated to fostering the cannabis community through events, conferences, dinners and much more. The conference is an opportunity to join with doctors from both Europe and North America, industry experts, investors and  …


Cannabis health information labels: why it’s time to have mandatory warnings as part of any legal cannabis market

Prof. Adam Winstock – Global Drug Survey 2019 As the tide of cannabis regulatory reform wafts through North America and beyond, it strikes me that the cannabis legalisation lobby started from a strong position. The weight of evidence and cogent arguments at their disposal to counter the totally unhelpful criminalisation of cannabis users was enormous.  …


Drug Science gives evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on Medicinal Cannabis

On 1 November 2018, following considerable popular pressure surrounding a select number of young children with treatment-resistant epilepsy who responded well to medicinal cannabis (and medicinal cannabis alone), regulations in the UK came into force to reschedule cannabis‑derived medicinal products to schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and to allow prescribing of  …