Medical Marijuana For Chronic Pain Could Cut UK's National Health Costs By $5.19B Annually, Improving Health Outcomes

Allowing medical marijuana to be prescribed on the National Health Service (NHS) for chronic pain could save the national healthcare provider nearly £4 billion annually ($5.19 billion), new research reveals. The independent analysis of the economic case for prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS was commissioned by the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) and Drug Science.

The research found that when a patient was prescribed medical cannabis for chronic pain instead of alternative treatments, it saved the NHS £729 each year and improved health outcomes. If this were available as a treatment to the 5.45 million people with moderately or severely disabling chronic pain, it would equate to a £3.97 billion annual saving for the NHS.

The savings came from reductions in the use of other prescription drugs (such as opioids), fewer GP and hospital appointments and reduced spending on alternative therapies and treatments.

"Our research shows the NHS could save £4 billion every year, simply by facilitating prescription of medical cannabis for chronic pain – which is already legal to prescribe," Prof. Mike Barnes, of CIC and Drug Science said. This seems an obvious win-win for the Government, particularly given high NHS waiting lists, Government funding challenges and the number of long-term unemployed people.

“Given the Government is advocating prescribing weight loss drugs on the NHS to improve health and boost the economy, our research shows it would be entirely logical to do the same with medical cannabis," Barnes added.

The research was supported by Ethypharm, Glass Pharms and Rua Bioscience. The modeling was undertaken by York Health-Economics Consortium.

Read Also: As UK Medical Marijuana Market Booms, Cannabis Clinics Receive Good Practice Guide

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27 Hours Per Patient Less

Additionally, the report found prescribing medical cannabis on the NHS for chronic pain would reduce the amount of time taken off work by 27 hours per patient, as well as increasing their individual earnings by hundreds of pounds.

Overall, prescribing cannabis for chronic pain could improve the UK economy by £5.45 billion annually or £1,037 per patient. Significantly, the report found that medical cannabis would meet the NICE test for whether it is a cost effective intervention.

While it is possible to access medical marijuana through the NHS, this rarely occurs and only in severe cases of epilepsy, chemotherapy-caused nausea or certain cases of muscle stiffness associated with MS. Since medical marijuana is not widely available via the NHS, many families struggle to afford life-saving medicine for their children.

"Despite medical cannabis being legalized in 2018, there are just a handful of NHS patients being prescribed unlicensed cannabis medicines," James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms, stated.

"We hope that NICE will review the evidence in this Health Economic Analysis and adapt their guidelines accordingly. Now is the time to expand NHS provision to allow unlicensed cannabis medicines to be prescribed for chronic pain."

The study, developed by lead author Dr. Shanna Marrinan, has been published in Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research.

Read Next:

• UK Could Net Up To $12.6B Annually From Cannabis Legalization

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