The RCP has been commissioned by NHS England to provide recommendations for the medicinal use of cannabis-based products, to coincide with new regulations coming into force on 1 November 2018.
Jointly produced by the RCP and the Royal College of Radiologists, and in liaison with the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the NHS guidelines cover cannabis-based products for medicinal use for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and chronic pain (cancer pain and chronic neuropathic pain).
The guidelines recommend that for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cannabinoids should remain an option for those who have failed standard therapies but not used as a first-line treatment. They do not recommend use for chronic pain as there is no robust evidence.
These guidelines are part of wider interim guidance from NHS England, while awaiting guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), expected in October 2019.