Home Office FOI2026/03126 response 20 March 2026

Authority case reference: FOI2026/03126

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Home Office patient assessment and review

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2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office

Pete Lindsay
pete.lindsay@justicebydesign.org.uk

20 March 2026

Dear Pete Lindsay
Freedom of Information Request: FOI2026/03126

Thank you for your email of 2 March 2026, which we have included as Annex A. Your
request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 (FOIA).

You asked for recorded information identifying:
1. When, and by whom, patients prescribed cannabis-based products for medicinal
use (‘CBPMs’) are informed that administering a product by combustion removes
the statutory exemption under Regulation 16A(3).
2. Which authority or officeholder is responsible for ensuring that such information is
provided to patients.
3. How responsibility for discharging Public Sector Equality Duty (‘PSED’) obligations
arising from SI 2018/1055 is allocated within government.
The Home Office holds no recorded information on when, or by whom, patients are
informed that combustion affects the Regulation 16A(3) exemption. To assist, the following
publicly available material explains the legislative position on SI 2018/1055:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1055/contents/made; on the Home Office Circular
2018/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-2018-15; and on
NHS guidance on CBPMs: https://www.england.nhs.uk/medicines-2/cannabis-based-
products-for-medicinal-use/.

Matters relating to prescribing practice and patient communication fall within the remit of
the Department of Health and Social Care (‘DHSC’) and the healthcare system.

The Home Office holds no recorded information identifying a department or office‑holder
responsible for ensuring this information is provided. Where such responsibility exists
within government, it would lie with DHSC, not the Home Office.

The Home Office holds no recorded information allocating PSED responsibilities for SI
2018/1055 to any specific department or office. For clarity, under section 149 of the
Equality Act 2010, PSED obligations are not allocated between departments. Each
relevant public authority is responsible for discharging the duty in relation to its own
functions. In the case of SI 2018/1055, this included the Home Office when the legislation

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was made. This information is contained in the Equality Act 2010 and SI 2018/1055, which 
are publicly available. 
 
Given the clinical nature of your questions, you may wish to contact DHSC, who may hold 
information relevant to patient communication and prescribing pathways. 
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review 
of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months 
to foirequests@homeoffice.gov.uk, quoting reference FOI2026/03126. If you ask for an 
internal review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the 
response. 
As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request would 
be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you 
were to remain dissatisfied after an internal review, you would have a right of complaint to 
the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the FOIA. 
A link to the Home Office Information Rights Privacy Notice can be found in the following 
link. This explains how we process your personal 
information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-rights-privacy-notice.  
Yours sincerely 
Public Safety Group

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ANNEX A 
 
Dear Home Office FOI Team, 
This request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and is a  
clarification follow-up to my request of 12 January 2026 (FOI 1D), including Annexes  
A–C. 
That request concerned the Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence  
Fees) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1055), including Regulation 16A(3). It follows your  
response to that request (your reference: FOI2026/00568). 
This clarification is intended to assist refinement and enable compliance within the  
cost limit, in accordance with section 16 of the Act. 
By reference to Annex A (Publicly Available Documentary Chronology) and the  
patient pathway analysis set out in Annex C, please provide any recorded  
information currently held by the Home Office which identifies: 
1. At what point, and by whom, a patient prescribed cannabis-based products for  
medicinal use (CBPMs) is informed that administration by combustion under  
SI 2018/1055 results in withdrawal of the statutory exemption under  
Regulation 16A(3), thereby re-engaging criminal liability under the Misuse of  
Drugs Act 1971. 
2. Which public authority, department, or office-holder holds responsibility for  
ensuring that such information is provided to patients. 
3. How responsibility for discharging Public Sector Equality Duty obligations  
arising from SI 2018/1055 is allocated within government, including any  
recorded statement identifying the responsible department or office. 
If no recorded information exists allocating such responsibility, please confirm this  
explicitly. 
This request concerns allocation of governance responsibility in relation to SI  
2018/1055 rather than historical drafting documentation.