Legalising Cannabis for Therapeutic Use: A Comparative Assessment *

Abstract

Therapeutic use of cannabis as a palliative treatment for certain medical conditions has been hotly debated in Britain in recent months. The weight of public opinion is behind a reform of the law; reform would legalise the possession and use of cannabis for therapeutic ends. This paper will endorse that argument by concentrating on a central contradiction within the law: while the law meticulously categorises the drugs which it regulates and prohibits, it is unwilling divide users of particular drugs into recreational and therapeutic groupings. This paper argues that the traditional arguments against making such a change in the law are unable to hold water, particularly when viewed in comparison with developments in Germany. We will also propose that the medical practitioner fulfil an existing traditional function as gate keeper in order to ensure supply and quality are both kept to a certain minimum standard. This policy will serve the ends of patients for whom this treatment is effective and cheap and which is justified in the public interest.