‘It’s going to be carnage’: The true risks of legalising cannabis

The effects and possible pitfalls of cannabis being available for prescription are not yet known, explains Berenice Langdon, but that hasn’t stopped patients from accessing the drug at their own risk

Doctors are blamed for putting up barriers to patients trying to access medicinal cannabis – but the benefits are unproven and the risks manifold (AFP/Getty)

I’m sorry, I can’t pretend to ignore this.” It is the second time my colleague, a palliative care consultant, has had to deal with a stash of cannabis in a patient’s bedside locker. “Either you need to phone someone at home to come and pick it up or we will need to contact the police and ask them to deal with it.”

The patient, a young man admitted with cancer to the hospice is freaked out. “I can’t call my mum about this she’ll kill me. Please could you tell the police?”

Illegal cannabis use for medical conditions is so widespread and so widely accepted that people now think it’s OK to bring marijuana with them into a palliative care ward.