11.11.19
1.4 million British adults using ‘street cannabis’ to treat chronic health conditions
The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis has today (Nov 11th) welcomed the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines relating to the prescribing of cannabis-based medicinal products for people with intractable nausea and vomiting, chronic pain, spasticity and severe treatment-resistance urges the Government to urgently accelerate patient access and clinical learning via the NHS as it reveals surprisingly new polling data.
A new report by the CMC and CPASS by YouGov shows for the first time the extent of illicit adult use of ‘street cannabis’ to treat the symptoms of chronic conditions.
The poll found that 56% of those using cannabis for their conditions did so on a daily basis, with a further 23% on a weekly basis. 9% spent nothing on cannabis, indicating self-grown use, 44% spent up to £99 per month, with an additional 21% spending between £100 and £199. Further information regarding which diagnoses cannabis was used for, in addition to which social, age and geographical group used cannabis in this was collected and will be published in an impending report.
Steve Moore, Director, Centre for Medicinal Cannabis: “In the medium term cannabis based medicinal products should be evaluated as all other medicines are via the well-designed RCTs that are the foundation of evidence-based prescribing protocols but we can no longer ignore the scale of ‘street cannabis’ use by chronically ill people in the UK.
“We urge the Government to explore models such as those being implemented by the Danish Government which accelerate patient access and clinical learning and address grim illicit profiteering and exploitation of vulnerable people.”