Is the UK medical cannabis program really worth £ 1.2 billion?

Provided everything stays on track, the UK is well on its way to creating around 40,000 jobs in its medical cannabis market. The entire industry will be worth at least £ 1.2 billion.

Volteface recently published a report on the widespread legalization of medical cannabis in the UK. The report, entitled New Leaf: Beyond Brexit, Countering Covid, looked at developments in the industry. There were also a number of recommendations on how the government could improve the industry. Some of these proposals include the appointment of proactive staff or a government agency to lead the industry. According to the report, if developed quickly, the industry could be worth £ 1.2 billion in just a few years, creating about 17,000 part-time jobs and 41,000 new jobs within and around the industry.

Medical cannabis was legalized in England in November 2018. The establishment of the industry has initiated the prescription of medical cannabis to patients whose symptoms can no longer be alleviated by conventional drugs. The National Health Service Department approved the prescription of cannabis-based drugs only for patients with severe epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), and after-effects of chemotherapy procedures (e.g., nausea, fatigue, mood disorders, etc.).

As it stands, the number of legal medicinal cannabis users is significantly lower than it should be. Due to the restrictive regulations surrounding the industry, patients prefer to privately seek medical cannabis through illegal channels.

The report stated that the current lack of development in the broad medical cannabis industry could be attributed to the archaic approach to regulating the industry. Before a regulation can be circumvented, for example, it must first be processed via the home office. This is unnecessary at this point and only slows down activities and processes.

The first step in development is to apply an optimized approach. Matters should be discussed and advised by a specific government agency dedicated solely to the medical cannabis industry. The establishment of such a body will ensure that cannabinoid regulation, licensing and disbursement of innovation funds are carried out quickly and at the right time. The report assured that this would further unite the various players in the industry and lead to broad development.

Under the current leadership, the whole process is being slowed down by customs and various legislative bodies involved. The wills will be refused to patients who need the medication because of these complications. Not to mention the fact that thousands of eligible medical marijuana patients in the UK do not have access to the drugs due to increased costs and limited supplies. The sooner the process is simplified, the sooner the accessibility of the medication for the patient can be improved.

As the title of the report suggests, this situation goes beyond Brexit. The medical cannabis industry can be very helpful in countering the negative effects of the pandemic.

The program is currently very limited and stifled with strict regulations preventing all doctors from prescribing medical cannabis.

Improving the medical cannabis program means giving doctors a free hand to recommend medicinal cannabis to those who are ill. The regulation, which only requires medical specialists to recommend medicinal cannabis, needs to be changed. Volteface suggests that all doctors must complete an advanced training course to equip them with the knowledge and expertise necessary to prescribe medical cannabis.

In addition, the UK government should find efficient ways to help private patients pay for the enormous cost of the drugs. Insurance can be beneficial in reimbursing these people – an excellent example of how this is done in Germany. Following Germany’s blueprint is another way of guaranteeing the industry’s growth. The report added that it would be a great win for the UK to ensure that all doctors are licensed to prescribe medicinal cannabis.

In the foreword to the report, Daniel Pryor, head of programs at the Adam Smith Institute, said the biggest elephant in the industry was patient access to medical cannabis in the UK. The National Health Service should do more to expand the reach of medicinal cannabis products. This is the fundamental way to ensure that the industry is reaching its full potential.

The evidence base for registered products has increased. To do this, a state-funded national process must be used. The government can work with reputable medical institutions in the country. The success of this study could mean cannabis is entering the mainstream medical ecosystem in the UK.

To provide more clarity about the accepted THC percentage, the report recommended that pure CBD products may contain up to 1% THC composition. According to the report, this would encourage more innovation options and open the sector to more investors. Currently, all cannabis-based medicinal products have less than 0.2% THC. To meet this requirement, hemp farmers had to compromise the health of the plant as well as the overall yield to ensure that the plants contained traces of THC.

Raising this limit to 1% will give farmers more leeway to increase the yield of the hemp plant varieties harvested per hectare. The report emphasized that 1% or less than 1% THC is still undetectable in the body

The medical cannabis market will grow significantly if the government takes into account the recommendations of the Volteface report. By 2024, the total number of patients registered under the legal cannabis program will exceed 200,000. The market has a lot of potential to become the largest or second largest in Europe after Germany. The current medical cannabis industry needs proper regulations and a better management system.

To hit and beat the £ 1.2 billion mark, the medical industry needs broader and amended legislation that would benefit thousands, if not millions, of people medically and financially.

What do you think of the economic outlook for the UK, do you think the medical cannabis industry could be worth over a billion pounds? Will the political climate eventually support the growth of medicinal cannabis? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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