Introduction
The MediPen, which is a legal way to consume CBD within the United Kingdom, has been on sale for about a year now and has drawn some very positive reviews. It has been reported to help people with everything ranging from depression and anxiety to arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Collaboration with the NHS
The company told The Independent it has been consulting with a group of production and regulatory support pharmacists from the NHS for the past few months, who have been testing their proprietary cannabis oil formulation.
A detailed public report outlining the testing process and extraction methodology will follow, and though it is only about confirming purity and cannabinoid profile at this stage, this is a big first step for the medical cannabis industry in the UK.
Impact and Expectations
MediPen is confident that by setting a precedent for testing cannabis products with the NHS, it will have a huge impact on the public’s perception of cannabis.
“Over the past year the MediPen has quickly become without a doubt one of the most highly-rated CBD products in the world,” said managing director Jordan Owen. “We’ve recently been working very closely with a team of NHS production and regulatory support pharmacists who’ve been able to meticulously analyse our proprietary formulation for both safety and cannabinoid concentration.
Official Response and Legal Context
“As the UK’s industry leading consumer cannabis biotechnology company, we’re excited to have set a new benchmark in providing a much-needed sense of legitimacy to the UK’s rapidly growing legal cannabis industry.”
“As the first consumer cannabis product to be tested by the NHS, we are confident that this will go a long way towards creating a properly regulated cannabis market in the UK and are extremely excited to see what the future holds.”
The NHS was unable to comment due to a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from sharing any client information, with the exemption of official government bodies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It did however point out that cannabidiol is present in the authorised multiple sclerosis spray product Sativex, though this is prescription only.