Inside the New UK Police Guidance on Medical Cannabis
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has approved the first-ever comprehensive guidance for law enforcement officers in England and Wales about medical cannabis. The 12-page document, written by the Association of Police Controlled Drug Liaison Officers, seeks to change UK law enforcement culture to “patients first, suspects second.”
The police are now required to follow a specific procedure when dealing with people in possession of cannabis. They are required to check the packaging with the dispensing label and are allowed to ask for a copy of the prescription, although it states there is no requirement to produce it.
A large part of the document deals with the so-called “Cancard” scheme, described as a contentious but misconstrued topic for the police.
The document explains that Cancard does not represent a legal prescription but a confirmation of a medical condition, implying that patients could turn to dispensing labels or digital IDs issued by the clinics instead.
The policy is also very clear about consumption practices. The patients are told that the only legal way to use inhaled flower is by vaporization, since it does not involve the combustion of cannabis, which remains illegal!
With respect to driving, it is important that patients remember that it is still illegal to drive if their cannabis has affected their ability, even if it is legal.
Although police officers should exercise “common sense” during traffic stops, it is still the patient’s responsibility to prove that he or she is not impaired.
Source: businessofcannabis.com
UK Experts Release First Standardised Dosing Guide for Cannabis Oils
The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) has released an historic dosing handbook that aims to establish standardized prescribing practices of cannabis oils in the UK.
The handbook, titled “Medical Cannabis Oils: Dosing and Guidance for Safe and Effective Treatment,” identifies important training deficits that currently exist in many healthcare professionals.
This guide, edited by professionals such as paediatric neurologist Dr. Evan Cole Lewis, has evidence-based information on how to deal with 12 common conditions that patients are treated for. These conditions range from chronic pain, epilepsy, and anxiety to sleeping disorders.
One of the key aims of the publication is to help new doctors who lack knowledge about the endocannabinoid system.
The MCCS aims to provide doctors with a “prescribing baseline” that would boost their confidence in their prescribing and ensure that patients receive the same quality treatment at different private clinics.
The handbook also addresses the protocols to be used in the event of drug interactions, focusing on the safety of the patient first and foremost.
Professor Mike Barnes, the Chair of MCCS, has described the handbook as “an essential publication, the result of many years of safe, effective, and successful prescribing in the private sector.”
As the availability of medical cannabis increases, the need for such tools has been considered imperative for the integration of the medical cannabis industry into mainstream medical acceptance.
Source: cannabishealthnews.co.uk
Hemp Seed Extracts Show High Potential for Antibiotic Synergy
According to a paper published in the journal Plants, phenolic compounds in hemp seeds from Romania have been shown to have a potent ability to increase the effectiveness of common antibiotics. The study tested three different varieties and two methods to see their effectiveness against bacteria and yeasts.
The research revealed that the ultrasound-assisted extraction yielded significantly higher amounts of these beneficial compounds than conventional methods. Moreover, these extracts not only had antibacterial properties, but they also had a “synergistic” effect when combined with amoxicillin and miconazole.
This indicates that the compounds from the hemp actually enhanced the strength of the antibiotics, opening yet another avenue toward combating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
The study found that there were two prominent “activity axes” on which particular phenolic structures, rather than total phenolic concentration, played the determining role in the performance of the extract.
These results indicate that hemp seeds, which have long been recognized as a supplement, have the potential to be formulated into effective medications that can be taken in combination with other treatments.
In this regard, the research helps to lay the groundwork for “designer” hemp extracts based on the exact structures of the phenolics that are behind the synergy.
With this finding, the humble hemp seed goes from being a health food to a heavyweight contender in the fight against superbugs.
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
CBD Stops Bacteria That Cause Gum Disease
The latest research, published in the journal “Journal of Oral Microbiology,” reveals that Cannabidiol, or CBD, could be an incredibly effective new treatment for gum disease. The new study assessed the effects of CBD on a multi-species biofilm, which is what causes gum disease.
The study evaluated the effect of CBD on 33 species of bacteria, comparing the effect to the conventional dental rinse, chlorhexidine. The findings indicated that CBD, when used in high concentrations, reduced the total number of bacteria and the “red complex” bacteria.
“Red complex” bacteria represent the strongest causative factor in gum inflammation and jaw bone loss. CBD was shown to be highly efficient in inhibiting the growth of Porphyromonas Gingivalis, a major causative factor in chronic periodontitis.
Interestingly, the treatment also increased the proportion of “green complex” bacteria, which are typically known to represent a healthy oral environment.
This indicates that CBD does not target bacteria indiscriminately and could help to promote the oral environment to become less harmful and more balanced.
Although the experiment was done in the lab model, the authors have suggested that CBD can possibly be mixed in toothpaste or oral gels in the future.
Further studies will be required, but the preliminary findings have established the potential for CBD to be used as the natural alternative to the traditional and harsh chemical antimicrobial agents in dentistry.
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Fibromyalgia Patients See Sustained Relief in Large UK Study
A recent study from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, published on January 13, 2026, has proved that medical cannabis offers substantial relief to people with fibromyalgia.
The study was carried out on 497 patients and lasted for a period of 18 months, during which the patients self-evaluated their results in terms of pain, anxiety, and sleep quality. The findings showed remarkable consistency in the patients experiencing marked improvements from the first point of follow-up to the end of the 18-month period.
Higher doses of CBD, above 25mg, had the strongest association with overall improvement.
Despite the fact that nearly half of the patients experienced side effects, such as fatigue, the majority of them were rated as “mild to moderate.”
For the patient demographic that typically suffers from the extreme symptoms associated with traditional pain medications for nerves, this data represents a compelling reason for the use of cannabis.
With the ever-expanding private healthcare sector for cannabis in the UK, this new research is yet another contribution that may well force the NHS to reassess its current prescriptive policies in the future.
Source: hempgazette.com