Disability History Month: How medical cannabis was legalised in the UK

UK Disability History Month: what is it and why does it matter?

There are thought to be over 16 million people living with a disability in the UK. The key purpose of Disability History Month is to raise awareness of the unequal position of disabled people in society and to advocate for disability equality.

It aims to develop an understanding of the historical roots of this inequality, to highlight the significance of disabled people’s struggles for equality and inclusion and argue for the implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities and the Equalities Act (2010).

Disability awareness in the workplace 

This year's theme is Disability Livelihood and Employment. It will seek to highlight the increasing number of disabled people in employment, whilst addressing the stereotypes, barriers and prejudices they continue to face.

Medical cannabis and disabled advocacy in the UK 

Disabled patients, advocates, and carers played a crucial role in the legalisation of medical cannabis in the UK. Activist groups fought for many years to end the criminalisation of cannabis, which many turned to for relief from conditions such as chronic pain and multiple sclerosis (MS).

However, it was the high profile campaigns led by the families of children with treatment-resistant epilepsy which ultimately led to the change in law on 1 November, 2018. 

One of those was Charlotte Caldwell, who started campaigning for a change in law after her son Billy’s cannabis medication was seized at Heathrow Airport. The medication was returned after Billy ended up in hospital and his doctor was permitted to prescribe on a temporary licence in the UK.

At the same time, Hannah Deacon was campaigning on behalf of her son Alfie, after moving her family to Holland where they could access cannabis oil legally to control his seizures. In June 2018, Aflie’s doctor was granted the first full licence to prescribe cannabis through the NHS. 

The former Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, later announced that medical cannabis would be moved to a Schedule II drug, making it legal for any specialist consultant to prescribe. 

Inequality in access: who can get a prescription for cannabis in the UK?

This historic change in law paved the way for tens of thousands of patients to be able to access medical cannabis treatment as they can today. However, the fight for equal access is far from over and many of the promises of 2018 remain unfulfilled.  

While the law was changed primarily with children like Alfie and Billy in mind, many children are still denied access to prescriptions today due to a lack of paediatric neurologists willing to prescribe. While hundreds of children are blocked from accessing these treatments on the NHS, around 50 families are paying around £2,000 a month for their children’s prescriptions privately. 

Earlier this month, on the anniversary of the law change, campaigners once again visited Parliament to call on MPs to address the barriers preventing them from accessing these treatments on the NHS.

Campaigners are calling for more doctors to come forward, as well as solutions such as compassionate access schemes for those currently on private prescriptions, and for medical regulators to consider the real-world evidence which supports the use of medical cannabis in this population. 

Inequality in society

In other ways, policies have also failed to protect adult patients once they are prescribed cannabis medicine.

Many patients continue to experience stigma and discrimination as a result of their prescription and negative experiences with police and other professionals, such as employers and insurance companies. This is largely due to a lack of awareness and understanding around the legality of medical cannabis and its effects.  

Releaf issues every patient with a medical cannabis card to help provide reassurance in these situations, but in some cases the Equality Act can provide more robust legal protections for disabled patients. 

The Equality Act and medical cannabis 

The Equality Act 2010 is an important piece of legislation which serves to “legally protect people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society.”  This legislation can be applied to medical cannabis patients under Section 15 (1): Discrimination arising from disability. 

Most conditions covered under medical cannabis prescription are likely to come under the scope of disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This legislation rules that it is unlawful to treat any person with a disability (as defined above) in a discriminatory manner. 

Employment guidance for medical cannabis patients

The Act also allows people who have health conditions that qualify as a disability, to request reasonable adjustments are made to their employment setting. However, not every medical cannabis patient will be automatically entitled to reasonable adjustments in their employment setting.

 For reasonable adjustments to be made, the following three criteria must be met:

1. The person seeking reasonable adjustments must have a disability
2. The disability the person has puts them at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to non-disabled colleges due to workplace policies, rules, or physical features. 
3. The employer is aware of the employee’s disability. 

There is no obligation for a patient to inform their employer of anything about their health conditions, diagnosis, or use of medication, but it may be necessary to do so in certain jobs such as those operating heavy machinery or driving. 

While an employer cannot force someone to provide the information, if they don’t they may not be eligible for reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act. 

Patients who are confused about their rights or treatment in the workplace can also reach out to Releaf’s patient support team for extra support and guidance. 

Final thoughts

While the legalisation of medical cannabis has improved the lives of tens of thousands disabled patients throughout the UK, many still face inequality not only due to their condition but choice of medication.

There is a need for updated and inclusive policies that address the realities of medical cannabis patients in the UK and the challenges they face when going about their everyday lives.