The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Medical Cannabis under Prescription recently published a new report focusing on the United Kingdom’s emerging medical cannabis industry. The United Kingdom’s website describes APPGs as being “run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, though many choose to involve individuals and organisations from outside Parliament in their administration and activities.”

While APPGs “are informal cross-party groups that have no official status within Parliament,” according to the United Kingdom’s website, the research and analysis that such groups publish are referred to and considered by members of Parliament during their own decision-making processes.

“The recognition of the medical properties of cannabis has come relatively late in the day to the UK. This late recognition combined with a restrictive and cautious approach means that the UK is at risk of missing out on the medical and commercial benefits of this rapidly developing sector.” state the authors of the report, which is titled Recommendations for Government.

“The UK has a strong reputation across a swathe of medical fields. However, without urgent action along the lines of the recommendations set out in this document, it risks missing out commercially, industrially and in terms of patient benefit, in this rapidly developing sector.” the report also states. “This paper sets out recommendations that should be implemented if the UK is to play a part in this new global industry.”

Lawmakers in the United Kingdom first legalized cannabis for medical use in November 2018, and the report serves as a reflection on the last seven years of medical cannabis in the UK, in addition to offering up suggested improvements to the nation’s approach to safe access.

“As it stands, there are many restrictions on full medical access due to unclear Governmental bureaucracy, a lack of medical education, and restrictive guidelines by The National Institute
for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and other bodies. Since the law change of 1st November 2018, the regulatory hindrance has had severe repercussions for the industry as well as for UK patients in need of medical cannabis.” the authors stated.

According to the report, an estimated 1.4 million suffering patients in the United Kingdom currently use medical cannabis illegally due to not having legal access to medical cannabis therapies. The APPG points out that after seven years of medical legalization, only six patients have received NHS prescriptions for full-spectrum medical cannabis products, and only an estimated 75,000 patients have received access through the private sector. That represents “less than 3% of the existing illegal medical users.”

“It is generally accepted that about 3-4% of the population may benefit from a medical cannabis product – about 2-3 million people in total. The fully mature medical cannabis industry (and this paper does not deal with a recreational industry or the industrial hemp market or over-the-counter CBD market) is estimated to be worth at least £7-10 billion annually and employ over 100,000 people.” the report states.

The authors also determined the following about the United Kingdom’s medical cannabis market:

• The current market of 75,000 patients generates about £300 million in revenue per annum
• The UK has over 40 specialist cannabis clinics
• There are about 160 prescribers in the UK
• The total legal patient base in the UK is increasing at approximately 1,500 per month
• The most common qualifying condition is chronic pain (about 53%)

The authors of the report urge the United Kingdom government to consider the following recommendations to improve the nation’s medical cannabis laws and regulations:

• Establish a central government fund for existing childhood medical cannabis epilepsy patients
• Establish a central approval system for approving additional childhood medical cannabis epilepsy patients
• Commission new NICE guidelines recognizing that cannabis is a botanical and not a pharmaceutical product
• Ensure the CQC is aware of the Good Practice Guidelines produced by MCCS when approving and inspecting cannabis clinics, and compare practice against those guidelines
• Commission a proper and thorough health economic analysis of medical cannabis regarding the UK economy
• Roll out the electronic prescribing of controlled drugs to the private sector
• Ease the ability to export medical cannabis products
• Review the medical cannabis sector

“The recommendations outlined above should be underpinned by a comprehensive review of the UK medical cannabis industry.” the authors concluded. “We urgently need to explore ways to improve patient access and develop an industry which will not only be of benefit to many millions of patients but also contribute significantly to the UK economy.”