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Lack of Government research into medical cannabis holding UK back, say experts

Experts say it is “short-sighted” that the UK Government is not investing in medical cannabis research

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Many countries benefit from Government-funded patient registries

Experts have highlighted the need for Government-funded studies, if the UK is to catch up with countries leading the way in medical cannabis research.

Experts in the field have said it is “short-sighted” that the UK Government is not investing in medical cannabis research, while independent bodies step in to fill the gap.

Dr Anne Katrin Schlag, head of research and Rayyan Zafar, honorary research assistant at Drug Science, joined Dr Simon Erridge, head of research and access at Sapphire Medical Clinics for a broad discussion for Medical Cannabis Awareness Week on Wednesday 3 November.

The panellists are all playing their part in building the UK evidence-base for the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis, through Drug Science’s Project Twenty21 and Sapphire Clinics, UK Medical Cannabis Registry. 

What does the evidence say?

Project Twenty21 (T21) now has more than 1,000 patients enrolled, aged between 18 and 85, for a range of indications including chronic pain, anxiety, ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome.

The first findings from T21, published in May, show cannabis improves quality of life in patients by more than 50 per cent. A  meta-analysis also found it to be more beneficial for improving quality of life in patients with chronic neuropathic pain, when compared to 12 of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals. 

In a separate study, a bayesian analysis of the tendency for medical cannabis to reduce seizures in 21 patients with childhood epilepsy, found it has a 96 per cent likelihood of significantly reducing them.

Dr Erridge has also published two studies with Sapphire, looking specifically at chronic pain, which found reported benefits in terms of pain interference and effect on a patient’s quality of life, anxiety and sleep.

It is hoped this data will help influence policy makers and regulators and can be used to inform randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

But the panelists also highlighted the lack of Government-funded research in the UK, which is holding the country back compared to elsewhere such as Israel, Canada and Australia, which is thought to have around 20 ongoing RCTs.

Many countries, including France and Germany, also benefit from Government-funded patient data registries, the findings of which will be used to help shape future policy around medical cannabis prescribing.

“Bridging the gap”

Dr Erridge said access schemes are having to “bridge the gap” when it comes to UK evidence, despite the NHS being an “optimum environment” for data collection.

“In the NHS we have an optimum environment in terms of the collection of data. At Sapphire and T21 we’re doing our best to bridge that gap, but there is a lot more that could be done with facilitation within a national healthcare system… if medical cannabis was being prescribed in the NHS,” he said.

“It comes back to having the institutions and the funding to go alongside that, in order to be able to produce high quality research.

“A lot of the universities in Canada, Israel and Australia have been fortunate benefactors of large endowments in terms of helping them to support large medical cannabis research groups, and to be able to support RCTs.

Dr Erridge added: “I don’t think that we should be completely reliant upon small subsections of rich individuals who are able to fund this. It needs to come from a centralised source.”

Despite the NIHR stating that it would make medical cannabis research a priority, following the law change in 2018, few grants have been issued, according to Zafar, who described the pledge as “lip service”.

“The NIHR have said that they want to specifically fund cannabis-based research… but having worked within cannabis research, I’m not aware of many grants being awarded to researchers in the UK from that,” he said.

“This is perhaps an example of policy on one side saying ‘we support medical cannabis’… but actually maybe [this is] just lip service right now.”

Dr Erridge believes that the NIHR was too quick to prioritise cannabis research after the UK law change.

“Their priority setting around medical cannabis came very quickly after the November 2018 legislation change and the UK wasn’t in a place where it could facilitate the research at that time,” he explained.

“By the time of the next funding round that prioritisation had gone away and now their main priority has been Covid-related research.”

Lack of policy

While the Covid-19 pandemic has been the focus of the medical sector for the last two years, it isn’t solely to blame for the lack of Government investment.

“Policy is partially driven by ideology, and that is always going to be an issue when it comes to science in the space of medicinal cannabis, but I think it’s short sighted that there isn’t enough research,” said Dr Erridge.

“Quite consistently we see MPs cite the financial and economic benefits of a thriving medical cannabis sector within the UK. I think they think that the route to that is that they say it in Parliament and it will happen, but what you need to do is put in very clear policy steps and that involves research and development. 

“It’s an ongoing discussion between patients, doctors, researchers and those policymakers to see what we can do to try and push them in the right direction.”

In the meantime private investors are stepping in, as Zafar explained: “There’s been a lot of investment in the cannabis space and academic collaborations can and have come off that, so it’s not as if the cannabis research space is empty at the academic or institutional level. There are a lot of corporate sponsored studies or philanthropic studies going on which are important to grow the evidence base.”

The UK now faces the question of whether the data collected by independent registries such as T21 and Sapphire will be accepted and acknowledged by policymakers.

Dr Schlag added: “We now need to ensure that the evidence generated is actually accepted and acknowledged and used in policy decision making. I think that is the next hurdle that we will be working towards.”

Watch the full webinar and catch up on all the events taking place during Medical Cannabis Awareness Week here

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Sarah Sinclair is a respected cannabis journalist writing on subjects related to science, medicine, research, health and wellness. She is managing editor of Cannabis Health, the UK’s leading title covering medical cannabis and CBD, and sister titles, Cannabis Wealth and Psychedelic Health. Sarah has an NCTJ journalism qualification and an MA in Journalism from the University of Sunderland. Sarah has over six years experience working on newspapers, magazines and digital-first titles, the last two of which have been in the cannabis sector. She has also completed training through the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society securing a certificate in Medical Cannabis Explained. She is a member of PLEA’s (Patient-Led Engagement for Access) advisory board, has hosted several webinars on cannabis and women's health and has moderated at industry events such as Cannabis Europa. Sarah Sinclair is the editor of Cannabis Health. Got a story? Email sarah@handwmedia.co.uk / Follow us on Twitter: @CannabisHNews / Instagram: @cannabishealthmag

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