A study that aims to show the cost-effectiveness of making cannabis available on the NHS could be part-funded by a crowdfunding campaign that launched this week.
So far, of the £18,000 funding required, £12,000 has been raised separately already, with the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) launching the online fundraiser on the crowdfunder.co.uk platform to raise the remaining funds.
The University of York will carry out the study, supported by the Drug Science non-profit research organisation and the CIC to develop a full health economics analysis of cannabis and chronic pain.
An economic modelling tool will be used to consider the costs, resource use and utility associated with prescribing medical cannabis to treat chronic pain, the CIC said, with the aim of demonstrating to the UK government, regulators and clinical bodies that cannabis could be introduced to the NHS at zero net cost.
"We need to show that cannabis can be introduced to the NHS at net-zero cost, which I think will be the case, however, we still need to prove it," said CIC chair Prof Mike Barnes.
Dr Anne Katrin Schlag, head of research at Drug Science and chair of the CIC research subgroup, said: “Many patients are successfully using cannabis-based medicinal products to treat chronic pain. Unfortunately, in the UK, medical cannabis is not available through the NHS to treat this condition, meaning that patients face significant costs to access the medicine via private healthcare.
“With our health economics analysis, we hope to show that – quite apart from improving patients’ quality of life – medical cannabis can also be cost-effective when compared to other treatments currently available.”
The research will include a comparison of costs with other treatments, and a consideration of cost and outcomes over a one-year time period.
Barnes said the study “will play a vital part in the industry building the case for cannabis-based prescriptions”.
The CIC states it exists to bring together organisations, businesses, and groups working in to promote the cause of cannabis and hemp, as "a collective voice for, and by, the sector".
Members include the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, Tilray UK, Hellenic Dynamics and media such as BusinessCann and Prohibition Partners.