New report says lessons from Covid-19 can help improve access to medical cannabis

The UK should draw on lessons learned from Covid-19 in order to improve access to medical cannabis, says a new report.

Scientists, clinicians, patients and industry professionals argue that it’s time for government to introduce bolder policies to increase patient access to medical cannabis in the UK.

A new report, published today (Thursday 3 February) calls on the government to take new approaches to policy making following the pandemic, to help improve access to and understanding of medicinal cannabis.

The report, published by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC), sets out 10 new ideas for increasing access, including drawing on the success of the Covid-19 RECOVERY trial.

It calls for a mechanism whereby clinical trials can be prioritised by an expert group and conducted at optimal pace, so as to ensure the earliest possible benefit to patients. 

The RECOVERY trial, led by the UKRI’s Medical Research Council and the NIHR, resulted in the identification of key COVID-19 therapeutic agents in months rather than the usual time frame of several years. 

Prof Trevor Jones, chairman of e-Therapeutics Plc, and Dr Parveen Bhatarah, regulatory and compliance associate at the CMC, write: “We should consider what lessons we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and how they may be applied to CBMPs.

“A similar initiative could be established for identifying CBMPs that could be rapidly evaluated in selected conditions of high unmet need.” 

Palliative and primary care access

The report also calls for the adoption of Patient Group Directions1 (PGDs) for medicinal cannabis, which would allow healthcare professionals providing palliative care another option for their patients, when they consider it appropriate.

Dr Daniel Couch, a GP and medical lead at the CMC, highlights the need for a new clinical pilot study to assess the effects of cannabis prescribing in primary care.

“There is a clear and apparent need for a clinical pilot study in primary care to assess the effects of community prescribing in a supported format,” he writes.

“This would allow us to assess the impact of medical cannabis on our patient’s quality of life, the economic effects of reduced referral to specialist care, and catalyse further studies and policy decisions.”

Dr Mikael Sodergren, head of the Medicinal Cannabis Research Group at Imperial College London, commented: “Learning from Covid-19, I sense that there is great support from all relevant stakeholders to redefine and modernise processes of drug development and medical cannabis could be the poster-boy of this new normal as we emerge from the pandemic. The issues, ideas, concepts, and proposals outlined in these essays represent the first step of this journey and signal a bright future for this growing sector.”

A global superpower

Other ideas set out in the report include the licensing authority to be transferred from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)/MHRA for cannabinoid medicines, the removal of current restrictions on unlicensed medical cannabis products from the UK and immediate changes to the Proceeds of Crime Act to open up investment opportunities.

“The report makes a compelling case for using existing governmental approaches to innovation and research and development to accelerate clinical studies, therapeutic understanding and patient access,” said Steve Moore, strategic counsel for the CMC.

“It also exposes the absence of a coherent public policy strategic framework to support this new industry and its consequences. The medicinal cannabis industry can become a vital component of Britain’s life sciences sector and our aspiration to become a global scientific superpower but this now requires a nurturing approach from the government instead of the current reactive one.”

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