Scotish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said during a Q&A at the Queen’s Hotel in Aberdeen this week that she would back decriminalising medicinal cannabis
Nicola Sturgeon said there was a “specific case” for relaxing the laws to treat people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis
Sturgeon said on the matter: “Cannabis is not a harmless substance. I am not in favour of general decriminalisation but I do think there is a specific case for medicinal use.”
She also cited Sativex, the first cannabis-based medicine to be licensed in the UK which can currently prescribed only for the treatment for MS.
Unfortunately, decisions over decriminalising drugs for medicinal purposes are currently reserved to Westminster, where the Government still maintain that current drugs laws are effective, despite the war on drugs being a clear failure. This leads to the criminalisation of thousands of cannabis-using patients in the UK who are forced to collect their medicine from street dealers, or grow it themselves under fear of arrest.
Hopefully more ministers will come out and back this argument in the near future – we will keep you updated!
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