News & Comment

16 Oct 2018

Statement Concerning The Cannabis Trades Association UK

With regret, CLEAR announces that it has withdrawn its endorsement of and support for the Hemp Trade Association Ltd (HTA) trading as Cannabis Trades Association UK (CTA). Peter Reynolds, president of CLEAR, created and founded CTA in September 2016. Since November 2016, HTA has traded under the CTA name with the permission of Peter Reynolds who was appointed to its advisory board. That permission has been withdrawn from 18th October 2018 and Peter has resigned from the advisory board with immediate...

12 Oct 2018

Will I Be Able To Get Cannabis Prescribed On The NHS?

With the publication of new regulations yesterday, it is now clear how cannabis will be available on the NHS starting on 1st November 2018. Only consultants will be able to prescribe cannabis and it will be entirely up to each consultant to make a decision about individual patients. The definition of cannabis-derived medicinal products is sufficently wide that both oils and herbal cannabis manufactured to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards will be available. There is very little explanation included in the regulations...

13 Sep 2018

CLEAR Advises Department of Health and MHRA on Definition of Cannabis-Derived Medicinal Products.

Last week, CLEAR was invited to participate in a teleconference with representatives of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This followed our written submissions made over the last few weeks. The teleconference included two representatives from each party. The DHSC was represented by the Medicines Pharmacy and Industry section. The MHRA was represented by the Licensing Division. CLEAR has now submitted a summary of all the advice offered which is reproduced...

10 Sep 2018

Nick Hurd MP, The Home Office And Their Massive Broken Promise On Medicinal Cannabis.

On 29th June 2018 in The Times newspaper, Nick Hurd MP, minister of state at the Home Office, published the following promise: "If medicinal and therapeutic benefits are identified, the intention would be to reschedule cannabis-related medicine as a treatment available through GPs. Whilst recent cases in the media have involved epilepsy this would be open to patients suffering from all illnesses where such treatment is identified to benefit them." Source: 'Out-of-date rules...

08 Sep 2018

Review. Hydrology 9 Vaporiser.

The Hydrology 9 has reawakened my enthusiasm for vaporisers. It has its faults but overall this is a great machine and a real advance in vaporiser technology. It also has one nifty little feature that is very simple but makes a huge difference. It's genius in fact and more of this later. I've assessed it over about four weeks and all that remains is to see how well it lasts. This is an expensive machine at around £200.00 and if it...

31 Aug 2018

Sainsbury’s Now Stocking Legal Cannabis Products As UK Policy Looks Increasingly Shambolic.

In another demonstration of how fast attitudes are changing, Love Hemp water containing soluble CBD cannabis extract is now on sale in a number of Sainsbury's stores. This is a remarkable achievement by the team at Love Hemp who are remaining tight lipped about the terms of the deal. A store manager told me that the product is on test in about 100 stores. Cannabis prohibition is crumbling and the Home Office seems increasingly our of touch with reality with its futile...

11 Aug 2018

Statement Authorised By The States Of Guernsey Concerning CBD Brothers.

The Cannabis Trades Association (CTA) is currently working with Roland Archer, States Analyst of the States of Guernsey, where it is intended that the Cannabis Products Directive (CPD) will be fully implemented into law perhaps as early as December.  Recent publications by CBD Brothers have emerged which it is important are corrected as they are highly misleading. CBD Brothers has stated the following: "We have been working very closely with officials from Guernsey who reached out to us last year. They wanted...

26 Jul 2018

The Definition Of A Cannabis-Derived Medicinal Product Must Include Standardised Herbal Cannabis Or Sajid Javid’s Reform Will Fail.

Bedrocan, the Netherlands government's official producer, grows cannabis in which the cannabinoid and terpene content is standardised and consistent. It does this by very careful cultivation techniques which include clonal propagation, continuous analysis and gamma irradiation to eliminate contamination with potentially harmful microbes. Its production facility is Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified. With the exception of Sativex, which NICE has declared as not cost effective, the Bedrocan range offers the only medicinal cannabis products which could be readily available in the...

08 Jul 2018

WARNING. CBD Flowers, Buds, Weed, Hash Are NOT Legal In The UK.

This is an extremely serious warning which people need to take seriously. Both CLEAR and the Cannabis Professionals (CannaPro) trade association have independently dealt with several people who are being prosecuted for possession. The law treats these products exactly the same as any other cannabis. It makes no difference what the THC level is, it is a class B drug and the penalty for possession is up to five years in jail and an unlimited fine. The confusion arises because of...

05 Jul 2018

An ‘Expert Panel’ On Medicinal Cannabis Without A Single Expert On It?

To be fair, the members of the expert panel are hardly a surprise. It's the medical establishment writ large. The chairman, Dr John McBride, was, according to Charlotte Caldwell, "instrumental" in stopping Billy's medicine being prescribed, despite the original prescription coming from a consultant neurologist specialising in paediatric epilepsy. A government which has denied any medicinal value in cannabis for nearly 50 years needs 'cover' for its long...