MoJ and HMCTS 260619034 response 16 July 2026

Authority case reference: 260619034

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Operational handling and outcomes

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OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Disclosure Team
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Pete Lindsay
pete.lindsay@justicebydesign.org.uk

data.access@justice.gov.uk

MoJ ref: 260619034
16 July 2026
Dear Mr Lindsay

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REQUEST

Thank you for your request dated 19 June 2026 in which you asked for the following information
from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

Requested Information

1.Can Ministry of Justice and/or HM Courts and Tribunals Service systems identify
criminal proceedings in which lawful possession of a prescribed cannabis-based product
for medicinal use was asserted?

2. If the answer to Question 1 is yes, please provide recorded information explaining how
such proceedings are identified. If the answer is no, please explain why such proceedings
cannot be identified.

3. Has the Ministry of Justice and/or HM Courts and Tribunals Service produced,
received or considered any recorded information concerning:
o the ability to distinguish proceedings involving prescribed cannabis based products for
medicinal use from proceedings involving non prescribed cannabis; and/or o the
implications of any inability to do so for monitoring, review, policy evaluation or
operational oversight?

4. If the answer to Question 3 is yes, please provide that recorded information
or, where exempt, sufficient description identifying:
o the nature of the material;
o the authoring body;
o the recipient; and
o the subject matter.

Your request has been handled under the FOIA.

I can confirm that the MoJ does not hold any information in the scope of your request.

With regard to questions 1 and 2, this is because the information you have requested regarding
evidence presented in court, such as the specific nature of the products involved in the

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OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE 
OFFICIAL - FOR PUBLIC RELEASE 
prosecution, cannot be obtained from the administrative systems held for the public authority 
purposes by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and MoJ. 
 
If held, this information can only be obtained by accessing the case records themselves to 
determine the requested information. These case records are held in the custody of the court for 
the purposes of the court, only. That information required to respond to your request is therefore 
not held by the MoJ, and so is not subject to the FOIA. 
 
With regard to questions 3 and 4, this is a policy matter, and policy for drug prescription is a 
matter for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which can be contacted via the 
below details- 
 
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/department-of-health-and-social-care-general-enquiries 
 
The FOIA does not oblige a public authority to create information to answer a request if the 
requested information is not held. The duty is to only provide the recorded information held. 
 
Appeal Rights  
 
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to request an internal review by 
responding in writing to one of the addresses below within 40 working days of the date of this 
response.  
 
data.access@justice.gov.uk 
 
Disclosure Team, Ministry of Justice,102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ 
 
You do have the right to ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to investigate any 
aspect of your complaint. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect internal 
complaints procedures to have been exhausted before beginning their investigation. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
David Carmichael 
FOI Team, Ministry of Justice Analysis Directorate