Cannabidiol: legislation and prescription

There are several considerations UK veterinary professionals and owners need to know regarding cannabidiol (CBD) in veterinary medicine. Legislation, product quality, evidence base and prescription on the cascade all need to be taken into account before deciding whether to prescribe CBD for an animal.

In the UK, there are currently no CBD-based products that have been granted a UK veterinary marketing authorisation. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) state that any CBD products for use in animals is a veterinary medicinal product, therefore require a marketing authorisation before they can be sold or supplied in the UK. The VMD consider that veterinary products containing CBD are veterinary medicines and should be regulated as such on the basis that products containing CBD fulfil the definition of a veterinary medicine in the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR, 2013) by virtue of the effects they have.

As there are currently no CBD products authorised in the UK for veterinary use, a veterinary surgeon may prescribe a legally obtained human CBD product under the provisions of the prescribing cascade. It is important to note that administration of an unauthorised product containing CBD without a veterinary prescription is an offence under Regulation 8 of the VMR (VMD, 2018), which states that no person may administer a veterinary medicinal product (which CBD is classed as under the VMD) to an animal unless the product has a marketing authorisation for its administration, or it is administered in accordance with Schedule 4 (administration of a veterinary medicinal product outside the terms of a marketing authorisation) or Schedule 6 (exemptions for small pet animals) (VMD, 2015).