Tag: scotland

Record Number In Scotland Buy Legal Medical Cannabis Privately

Written by Hazel Norman on March 10, 2025. Posted in Business, Policy.

Scotland’s legal medical cannabis industry has struggled to reach its full potential in recent years, however, the industry has passed a meaningful milestone with a record number of Scots making legal purchases of medical cannabis products from private industry sources.

“Record numbers of Scots are paying for medical cannabis as NHS waiting lists leave them struggling to get conventional treatment.” reported Daily Mail. “An unprecedented 3,440 Scots now have private prescriptions for the drug – mostly patients suffering from common conditions such as depression, anxiety, or chronic pain.”

“Scotland’s first medical cannabis clinic was set up in 2019 and its roster of clients has grown monthly.” the outlet also reported.

Nearly five dozen nations around the world have legalized cannabis for medical use to some degree. Israel was the first country to legalize cannabis for medical use back in 1999.

Currently, cannabis is legal for adult use in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and South Africa. Recreational cannabis legalization has also been adopted by two dozen states in the U.S., and regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are operating in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

CBD Effectively Treats Acute Dental Pain In Randomized Clinical Trial

Written by Frank Schuler on May 27, 2024. Posted in Science.

The cannabis plant contains dozens of cannabinoids, each with its own characteristics and potential to provide wellness benefits. For many decades tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was the focus of much of the cannabis research conducted by scientists.

However, in recent years other cannabinoids have risen in popularity, and that has shifted some of the focus of cannabis researchers. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a very popular cannabinoid these days among consumers, patients, product developers, and researchers.

According to a recent randomized clinical trial conducted in Scotland, CBD can effectively treat acute dental pain. Below is more information about the study via a news release from NORML:

Kilmarnock, Scotland: The administration of a purified formulation of plant-derived CBD (aka Epidiolex) provides significant short-term relief to patients suffering from acute toothaches, according to placebo-controlled clinical trial data published in the journal Evidence-Based Dentistry.

A pair of Scottish scientists assessed the use of Epidiolex versus placebo in 61 patients with moderate-to-severe dental pain. Forty patients received CBD in doses of either 10 or 20 mgs. Twenty-one subjects received a placebo. Patients’ pain was monitored for three hours following dosing.

Patients who consumed CBD, on average, experienced a greater than 50 percent reduction in their pain, investigators reported. By contrast, those receiving placebo experienced a 37.5 percent decrease in pain.

“Based on this randomized clinical trial, pure CBD drug Epidiolex demonstrates effective analgesia against acute toothache,” the study’s authors concluded.

The US Food & Drug Administration approved the prescription use of Epidiolex as an anti-epileptic drug in 2018. The DEA removed Epidiolex from the Controlled Substances Act in 2020.

Full text of the study, “Cannabidiol – an effective analgesic for toothache,” appears in Evidence-Based Dentistry.

Poll Finds Very Low Support For Prosecuting Cannabis Possession In Scotland

Written by Hazel Norman on November 21, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The Scottish government conducted a survey between the 21st of October 2021 and the 27th of March 2022, in which adults were asked “how much do you agree or disagree that people should not be prosecuted for possessing small amounts of cannabis for their own use?”

Cannabis is currently classified as a class B drug throughout the United Kingdom, including in Scotland. Anyone caught possessing cannabis could face jail time, a hefty fine, or both. According to a government report, 1.066 were prosecuted for illegal possession of cannabis in 2018-2019.

“Over three in five people (66%) ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that people should not be prosecuted, while just under one in five (18%) ‘disagreed’ or ‘strongly disagreed’ that small amounts of cannabis possession should not be prosecuted,” Scotland’s government stated along with the published data from the 2021/22 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey.

“In 2001, 51% either agreed or strongly agreed that people should not be prosecuted for possessing small amounts of cannabis for their own use. By 2009, the proportion agreeing had dropped to 34%. However, in 2021/22, the proportion who either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement had almost doubled from 2009 to 66%.” the researchers went on to state.

A deeper dive into the survey results yields further insight. If a survey participant had previously tried drugs before, they were considerably more likely to think that people shouldn’t be prosecuted for personal cannabis possession.

Roughly 89% of people that indicated past drug use indicated in the survey that they do not support prosecuting people for cannabis possession, compared to 57% of people that indicated that they had not tried any illegal drugs in the past.

A similar trend was demonstrated when it involved survey participants that had a friend or family member that regularly used illegal drugs, with 84% of participants in that category agreeing or strongly agreeing that people possessing a small amount of cannabis for personal use should not be prosecuted.

“This figure was lower, but still considerable, at around six in ten (57%) for those who did not have any friends or family who had regularly used illegal drugs.” researchers stated regarding the results.

“When asked whether people possessing small amounts of cannabis for personal use should not be prosecuted, 43% of those who agreed or strongly agreed that most people with problem drug use only have themselves to blame, compared with 77% of those who disagreed or strongly disagreed, agreed that cannabis for personal use should not be prosecuted.” the researchers also concluded.

Scotland Decriminalizes Drug Possession

Written by Marguerite Arnold on September 28, 2021. Posted in Politics.

Scotland’s new policy covers all ‘illegal drugs” including cannabis in a surprise turn of events.

In a surprise announcement, Class A substances have been effectively decriminalized in Scotland. This includes cannabis. According to the lord advocate, Dorothy Bain QC. this is a “diversion from prosecution” policy that came as a surprise to the Scottish Parliament (or Holyrood).

Officers can already issue formal warnings for possession of lower category drugs; however, this policy comes at a time when the entire cannabis discussion is being actively discussed in just about every European capital post-German election.

Scotland logged a record 1,339 drug-related deaths in 2020 which is the highest rate in Europe. As a result, the Scottish government has pledged to make it a “national mission” to cut fatalities.

Per Ms Bain, “There is no one size fits all response to an individual found in possession of a controlled substance, or an individual dependent on drugs.”

While there are those who criticize the step for not going far enough, even this development is controversial. The Scottish Conservatives criticized the plan for merely being a cannabis decriminalization plan by another name. However, since that is in essence exactly what this move represents, the fact that other parties are supporting the idea is a positive development in a part of the world notoriously conservative about all “illicit” drug use.

Could Scotland Be a Tipping Point for the UK?

There are many forces driving a renewed interest in at least decriminalizing the use of cannabis in the UK. The CBD market is clearly up and running and more and more GMP-certified cultivation and extraction facilities are getting licensed (see most recently the movement on the island of Guernsey).

Beyond this, of course, European countries which are increasingly putting Covid in their rear-view mirror if not having national elections (see Germany last weekend) are also increasingly at least musing changing national drug policies. Sending in the fuzz to bust CBD stores or locking up legitimate cannabis patients is, increasingly, a political third rail.

There are many reasons, in other words, to herald this new Scottish liberalization of drug policy – both directly south of Hadrian’s Wall and across the Channel.

And even if “all” that is achieved is that cannabis is decriminalized that is an important step.

Stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog as autumn clearly blows in a new wind for cannabis reform across Europe.

cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower

Scotland’s First Medical Cannabis Clinic Is Set To Open

Written by Johnny Green on February 18, 2020. Posted in Medical.

Cannabis reform is sweeping across the globe, however, there are still many countries that still prohibit cannabis, even for medical use. Even in countries where medical cannabis is legal, safe access to medical cannabis is not always widespread. An example of that is the situation that is going on in Scotland.

Medical cannabis laws were updated across the United Kingdom in 2018. At the time the reform was passed, medical cannabis advocates expressed fears that legal patient access to medical cannabis would be limited since it relied on a doctor’s prescription.

Time has proven that the fears were well-founded because in Scotland no licensed medical cannabis clinics exist. Fortunately, that is about to change. Per The Times:

Cannabis is set to be legally prescribed in Scotland at the country’s first private clinic for the drug.

The unit, which aims to provide medicinal cannabis for “all conditions acknowledged to benefit from it”, is scheduled to open in Aberdeen.

This is a very big milestone for suffering patients in Scotland. Obviously there is a lot of work left to be done in order to bring safe access to suffering patients throughout Scotland, however, the process has to start somewhere. Hopefully the new clinic helps suffering patients find relief from their conditions and helps build momentum for more clinics to open up.

No valid reason exists for prohibiting patients from responsibly using medical cannabis. Cannabis is more effective and safer than a laundry list of common medications. Patients should be able to make the safer choice if they want to and not have to live in fear because they consume a plant that is safer than alcohol.