Plan launched to protect medical cannabis users

Medical cannabis users in one county could be the first in Wales to get specific protection from their council.

A new motion will recommend that Flintshire council gives additional protection to social housing tenants and council staff who are legally prescribed cannabis.

It would mean that Flintshire would be the first local authority in Wales to introduce this policy, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It would ensure that the council includes medical cannabis users in its equality impact assessment and its employees with prescriptions were not discriminated against.

It would also offer training and improve understanding of the legislation around medical cannabis, which was legalised in 2018.

Former Liberal Democrat council candidate David Case has had rheumatoid arthritis since he was 14 and is prescribed medical cannabis.

"It is a legal treatment. I take it and it provides one to two hours of relief from the pain but without it I would barely be able to move without pain and would require a lot more support from care services," he said.

"But despite it being legal for seven years I still encounter issues. There are levels, for example I like to go to a local pub once a fortnight for the quiz. I cannot take my medical cannabis there as they have a zero-tolerance policy to drugs."

There are about 50,000 people in the UK with medical cannabis prescriptions but a lack of understanding of the law can mean that council officers are unsure how to proceed if a complaint is made around cannabis use and tenants claim to have a prescription.

After speaking with Mr Case, Liberal Democrat councillor David Coggins Cogan raised the motion, which will go before full council on 3 April.