A global revolution in attitudes towards cannabis is under way

THE DOCTOR was blunt with Hannah Deacon, the mother of an epileptic boy. He told her that she would “never” get a prescription on the National Health Service (NHS) for medicine based on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. The British government, too, was unhelpful, maintaining in February 2018 that cannabis had no medical value—a position that it had held for over 50 years, even as the country grew and exported cannabis for medicinal use. Yet within months, it had made a U-turn, accepting that Cannabis sativa had medical uses. Eight months after Ms Deacon made her first public plea for it, her son, Alfie, got THC-based medicine on the NHS.

Legislatures across the planet have been having similar changes of heart. This may presage broader legalisation. History suggests that when medical cannabis is permitted this is often the prelude to broader recreational access.