Medicinal cannabis dispensing service begins in the Isle of Man as pharmacy accepts prescriptions

A medicinal cannabis dispensing service is due to launch this week in Onchan in the Isle of Man.

Karsons Pharmacy will be supplying cannabis based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) to patients from Thursday 1 December.

Anyone wishing to use the service will need to provide a private prescription.

CBPM prescriptions are not available on the NHS, but patients can use CQC registered private clinics with a medical practitioner on a specialist register which allows them to prescribe CBPMs.

The Isle of Man Government say it could take 'around 7-10 working days' for medication to arrive on the Island, but they hope this will reduce over time.

Minister for Health and Social Care, Lawrie Hooper MHK, said: "I’m really pleased that we’re now in position to launch this important service. I’d like to thank the public for their patience while it has been set up, the Department and Karsons have been working hard to get everything in place and we’ve shared the frustration at delays which have now been resolved."

He added: "We’d like to ask patients for their continued patience in the opening weeks of the service while the service embeds. I would encourage patients to read through our FAQs and familiarise themselves with the advice and guidance around the use of these products."

The service was delayed on two separate occasions due to 'technical issues' between the Island's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Home Office.

The licence to provide this service has been awarded by the DHSC to Karsons Pharmacy, and will allow them to operate the service as a pilot for a minimum of 12 months to collect data.

Patients are encouraged to contacted Karsons Pharmacy with any questions, and more information can be found on the CBPMs webpage.

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