Thousands to access ‘more affordable’ medical cannabis treatment

Thousands of patients are set to benefit from more affordable access to medical cannabis treatment in 2021.

A UK medical cannabis clinic is extending its access scheme to offer reduced costs of treatment to a further 2,000 patients.

From 1 January, 2021 Sapphire Medical Clinics will be offering reduced consultation costs to patients taking part in its ground-breaking initiative – the UK Medical Cannabis Registry – which aims to expand the evidence base of medical cannabis.

It comes following the success of the Sapphire Access Scheme launched in June 2020, which offered the first 1,000 patients reduced costs to be involved.

“We’ve helped many patients in 2020 to access treatment with medical cannabis with some life-changing results,” said Sapphire’s chief pharmacist Carl Holvey of the announcement.

“I am so pleased we are able to expand the Sapphire Access Scheme to another 2,000 patients.”

Prices start from £100 for an initial consultation, £50 for the first follow up and £45 for quarterly check-ups. Patients are not charged a repeat prescription fee and will be able to monitor their treatment outcomes for free using the comprehensive Real World Evidence platform.

Current patients on the Sapphire Access Scheme can also benefit from this news with reduced appointment prices for follow up consultations.

Abby Hughes, PLEA (Patient-Led Engagement for Access) advocate for quality of life with medicinal cannabis welcomed the news and highlighted the importance of collecting data to improve access to medication on the NHS.

“It is brilliant news that Sapphire are able to offer reduced-cost consultations to another 2,000 patients. So many people would love the opportunity to be prescribed medical cannabis, however are restricted by the costs associated with obtaining this medicine legally through the private sector,” said Abby.

“Being able to provide data to projects such as the Sapphire UK Medical Cannabis Registry is so important to patients being able to access this medication on the NHS in future.”

CPASS (Cannabis Patient Advocacy & Support Services) is a cross-sector collaborative initiative providing support for patients and healthcare professionals for cannabis-based medicines.

Co-founder and director, Basia Zieniewicz added: “The more patients that are able to access medicinal cannabis on prescription, the closer we will get to demystifying its medicinal value, in turn widening access even further still. Radically reducing cost barriers is key.”