The United Kingdom’s emerging legal medical cannabis market is the second largest on the European continent, currently valued at roughly €300 million. The only legal medical cannabis market that has a greater value in Europe is in Germany.

By many measures, the United Kingdom’s medical cannabis laws remain fairly restrictive, with many patients gaining safe access to medical cannabis outside of the National Health Service (NHS). Access to medical cannabis therapies through the NHS, which was first legalized in 2018, has proven to only help a small number of patients, according to a government report published earlier this year.

A recent market analysis determined that medical cannabis patients in the United Kingdom spend an average of £3600 a year on their medicine, and that there are about 80,000 active medical cannabis patients.

“It is, by all accounts, already big business. Although the NHS, backed by the policy of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or NICE, has been extremely circumspect in adopting medical cannabis, private clinics are doing brisk trade in treating patients with legal weed.” reported The London Economic in its local coverage.

“The UK is also a huge producer of legal cannabis. In fact, it is the world’s fifth biggest legal cannabis grower.” the outlet also reported. “The UK currently has some 500 tonnes of cannabis sitting in stock – one of the world’s biggest stockpiles. However, patients only receive about 10 tonnes a year. Much of which is imported.”

There is significant room for growth for the UK’s emerging legal cannabis industry. However, laws and regulations will need to be modernized for that to happen. Boosting safe access to medical cannabis through the National Health Service (NHS) could yield a significant economic boost to the UK and dramatically increase the size of the nation’s emerging cannabis industry.

A collaborative economic study was recently conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Curaleaf Clinic that focused on the potential financial impact of broadening access to medical cannabis for suffering patients in the UK.

“A new report has suggested that increasing access to medical cannabis on the NHS could help thousands of people with long-term health conditions return to employment.” reported Mirror in its local coverage. “A report suggests the NHS could unlock a staggering £13.3billion for the economy over a decade and get thousands back to work by increasing access to medical cannabis.”

“The analysis, which utilised UK data on long-term illness, employment, and hospital admissions, as well as evidence from countries like Germany, claims increased access could help thousands of Brits with long-term health conditions return to work. It also predicted a 28 per cent annual reduction in hospital admissions among those eligible.” the outlet also reported.

A recent poll found that if NHS doctors were allowed to prescribe medical cannabis more widely, a vast majority would choose to do so.

“Out of 500 doctors currently practicing in the NHS, almost half of which were GPs, three quarters said that treatment options for women’s health conditions, such as endometriosis, PMDD and menopause, are too limited.” reported Cannabis Health News in its local coverage. “Meanwhile, over two-thirds (67%) say patients with chronic pain conditions take up the vast majority of their week and feel there are too few options for treating patients with conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis and back pain.”

“When asked about the type of alternative treatment they believe should be available, almost nine in 10 (87%) doctors agreed that they’d be open to prescribing medical cannabis to manage chronic pain, and 80% of GPs would prescribe it to manage women’s health conditions, if it were part of the NHS toolkit.” the outlet also stated.