I don't think there are that many genuine prescriptions issued to give the type of broad response you seek.

The press seems to be full of parents complaining of having to fund their little darlings "necessary" medicine due to it not being made available through the general NHS.

Prescription by a specialist based upon medical need of unlicensed / unproven treatments would beggar if any operative claiming to be "under treatment" is being entirley genuine.

As the issuer is a "Specialist" then perhaps they should be providing a fit note describing what the patient may, and may not, do in consequence of the treatment during their employment - after all the legisation is currently written in consideration that each case is unique so a general approach is not appropriate.

You need to check what they are being prescribed. Doctors cannot prescribe weed or hash in this country. There are cannabis  based medicines that contain THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, which can be prescribed by specially licenced doctors (not GPs) As these are legally prescribed drugs they should be treated just like any other medicine and they should come with guidance as to their use, which might include –“do not use machinery after taking this medicine”, which is a common enough restriction. Some people might also be taking  cannabidiol (CBD) which extracted from the cannabis plant but should not contain any THC. As such it is treated in law as  “herbal extract”  and you can buy it over the counter from any shop, not necessarily a pharmacy. It is not classed as a medicine because there is no evidence that  it actually works as there are no active ingredients. Some sellers try to give the impression that it is a “legal high” but that is not true.  It should not have any effect on people’s ability to work safely  but be careful as some sellers (whether by accident or on purpose) supply CBD that is contaminated with THC. This is an active drug, but it is also illegal.

So you need to find out what this person is taking  and how it is being supplied to them.

Did Guernsey adopt its Zero limit for cannabis whilst driving?

Will make for an interesting employment Drugs Policy where alcohol whilst driving is still permitted "up to...."

captcha 1RuM

Good point.

something to look into.

Originally Posted by: antbruce001

It is worth noting that Guernsey have their own version of the HSWA, and are not covered by the UK version. They don't have ACoPs, and in some areas the required standards are quite different. It threw me the first time I realised this - seeing scaffolds with no intermediate rail being used.

Thanks for your reply, however Guernsey are improving with H&S. Yes, our HSWA is dated 1987, and we now have several ACoP's i.e. Legionella, Asbestos & CDM. Local HSE will always go to UK HSE as best practice (i.e. scaffold to TG20).

Unfortunately it seems lots of people are a bit out of date on this.

Medical marijuana has been available for private prescription in the UK for three years now. The UK is the worlds biggest producer and exporter of medical cannabis products (even more than countries like Canada where it's legal!)

I myself have been prescribed medical marijuana for fibromyalgia after suffering two rare lung diseases and the floodgates are now open with thousands of people paying slightly more for privately prescribed marijuana for the security and legal protection it gives them.

"At the end of 2019, there were less than 250 active medical cannabis users in the country; by 2024, this figure is expected to be over 337 thousand."

Here are just 15 clinics in the UK offering prescription cannabis products for various private healthcare fees: https://www.ukmccs.org/members-area/directories/clinic-directory/ 

These clinics are supplied by a number of diffferent legal cannabis pharmacies.

I was recently tasked with drafting a drug and alcohol testing policy for a client and I was very interested in how this grey area could be dealt with, when I updated the client on my findings they decided they would park the drug and alcohol testing for now!

It is a minefield and more guidance and legislation, needs to be put in place because the normalisation of medicinal use and likely soon recreational use will change what can be enforced significantly.

How can you judge when someone is 'under the influence of a narcotic' and when someone is getting needed pain relief from a prescribed medicine?

Drug tests can detect tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in urine, blood, and hair for many days/weeks after use, while saliva tests can only detect THC for a few hours. This is because of the way the body metabolizes THC.

THC is a lipid-soluble chemical. This means that it binds to fat in the body, which increases the length of time it takes for someone to eliminate THC completely.

Urine testing identifies cannabinoids in the fats in urine but only shows someone has used it not that they are under the inflence of it whilst at work.

I don't have the answers but I'm interested in how it can be controlled, monitored, tested and how grey areas of the rights of workers and the risk of intoxicated persons in the workplace affects theirs and others safety and how we as health and safety professionals can adapt to ensure the HEALTH and safety of our site users.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/

Very specialised private supply so I am curious as to where the prediction of 337,000 prescriptions arises.

There is even talk of an upgrade to Class A

Originally Posted by: Roundtuit

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/

Very specialised private supply so I am curious as to where the prediction of 337,000 prescriptions arises.

There is even talk of an upgrade to Class A

krunker

A contributor with exotic tastes our Vino.

Two weeks ago it was caviar.