Guernsey issues 12,000 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis in less than a year

Guernsey doctors have given out more than 12,000 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis in 10 months.

The drug was legalised for medicinal use back in 2019 with the States at the time saying it will likely only be offered in a "very small number of cases".

A total of 12,050 prescriptions were issued for the drug by on-island clinics between July 2022 and April 2023, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

March 2023 saw the highest monthly figure since records began last year with 1,449 on-island prescriptions.

More than 5,000 were given out in the first four months of 2023.

There have been calls to legalise recreational cannabis use across the Channel Islands with Guernsey's former Chief Minister Gavin St Pier saying local governments need to 'recognise the reality' and regulate rather than criminalise it.

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