Responding to the news that doctors will be able to prescribe cannabis products to patients from 1 November, former Liberal Democrat Health Minister Norman Lamb said:

“These new measures offer very restrictive access to medicinal cannabis which will benefit only a tiny number of people.

“The tight restrictions show that the Government continues to be driven by fear rather than evidence. Why are Ministers applying a different standard of evidence to cannabis than to any other medicinal product that might offer a clinical benefit to patients?

“It is also disappointing that the Government has once again rejected a wider review of the outdated and harmful laws around the recreational use of cannabis.

“The Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for a regulated cannabis market in UK, with a robust approach to licensing instead of leaving the market in the hands of criminals.”