By Jon Hiltz
Less than one month ago, Marijuana.com reported that the push for medical cannabis in the UK was gaining momentum.
The UK Government, in what is being called a legislative U-turn, now recognizes the medicinal value of cannabidiol (CBD). This marks the very beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition in one of the largest democracies on the planet. It’s also a dangerous leap of faith for UK patients in need.
Until this point, retailers were allowed to sell CBD oil in the UK as long as they did not represent it as a medical product in any way. This new ruling changes that notion entirely, and the way the government is going about the transition has patients and distributors of CBD up in arms.
UK Stops CBD Sales
Current retailers of any CBD product have been ordered to stop selling it within 28 days. The government plans to administer regulatory procedures for manufacturers and retailers. This could mean a significant lapse in availability of life-changing CBD products — Europe’s black markets will rejoice.
Further to that, CBD distributors are concerned about the enormous licensing expenses. The application process alone can cost £103,000.
The welcomed but obstacle-heavy decision by the UK government has also caused a political conundrum in her Majesty’s Kingdom. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the department that made the decision to classify CBD oil as a medicine. The “Home Office” is the UK term for the branch that handles all security and law enforcement for the region. The latter still considers marijuana and anything related as a Schedule 1 substance having no medicinal value — what’s known as a rock and a hard place in the United States.
It is too early to tell how this will play out, but the majority of activists and others trying to push for cannabis reform are calling this decision murky progress.
CBD oil is now the Trojan Horse responsible for recent policy shifts in two countries. The aforementioned United Kingdom, and the recent legislation change in Argentina that has made Charlotte’s Web CBD oil available to patients who need it.
