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ADHD: Cannabis

Asked by Adam DanceLiberal DemocratDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 22 July 2025UIN 68506

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis as a treatment for the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Answered by Karin Smyth

No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis as a treatment for symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Where there are demonstrated therapeutic effects, we would expect manufactures to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for a marketing authorisation (licence) for their medicines, to enable prescribers to be confident of the medicine’s quality, safety and effectiveness.

Assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would then precede any routine prescribing on the NHS.

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