'Oliver's law': brother demands UK cannabis clinic reforms
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- Oliver Robinson died by suicide in November 2023 aged 34; a January inquest ruled his medicinal cannabis prescription, first issued in May 2022, 'probably contributed to his death' and 'acted as an obstacle' to him receiving appropriate psychiatric and addiction care.
- Alexander Robinson launched a campaign called 'Oliver's law' demanding a ban on cannabis prescriptions for patients with serious mental illness, mandatory consultation with NHS mental health teams, face-to-face assessments for complex cases, tougher CQC oversight with published prescribing data, and mandatory reporting of serious harms.
- The coroner cited specific failures at Curaleaf Clinic: an out-of-date GP summary that was nine months old, a video consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist with no consultant-level experience treating adult patients of his complexity, and no direct communication with Oliver's NHS or private psychiatrists once they became aware of his care.
- Private unlicensed cannabis prescriptions in the UK surged to 659,293 in 2024, more than double the 282,920 issued in 2023, while NHS prescriptions for licensed CBMPs numbered only about 5,000 in 2023; an estimated 80,000 UK patients hold private prescriptions, most for unlicensed products.
- Expert psychiatrist Dr Pavan Chahl testified that under British National Formulary guidance medicinal cannabis should not be prescribed to someone with a history of severe psychiatric disorder, that there is a lack of evidence for efficacy in depression, and that 'Oliver Robinson should never have been prescribed medicinal cannabis.'
- Prescribed products contained up to 27% THC (street cannabis: 15–20%); Oliver's prescription cost up to £1,000 a month, contributing to him losing his job, taking out payday loans, being evicted from an Airbnb, and living in a tent, while he also accessed street cannabis when he could not afford the clinic.
- Curaleaf said 'many of the improvements identified were already in place before the inquest' and that questions of regulatory policy are matters for the CQC, MHRA and GMC; the CQC, which rated the clinic 'good' last year, said it is reviewing the prevention of future deaths report to consider any regulatory action.
Why it matters: This is the first UK coroner's ruling linking a private medicinal cannabis prescription to a death, and it lands as private prescriptions more than doubled in a single year to 659,293 — most for unlicensed products — while the CQC still rated the prescribing clinic 'good.' Alexander Robinson's 'Oliver's law' campaign targets a regulatory gap that affects roughly 80,000 private patients and could force the CQC, MHRA and GMC to set binding safeguards on a sector whose growth is outpacing its oversight.
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