Professor Mike Barnes has joined leaders in the cannabis sector to co-author a White Paper urging action for better access to medical cannabis treatment.
The paper details how to maximise clinical research and improve patient access to medical cannabis in the UK.
In the article in Health Europa, Prof Barnes said
“Doctors have been stopped from prescribing medical cannabis because of funding issues, but the NHS Trusts need to understand that cannabis can actually save money and reduce the burden on healthcare.
With cannabis, we are able to stop using more expensive medicines such as opioids, as well as stopping people from being admitted to hospital because of their health condition. Overall, cannabis can be introduced at less cost than existing medicines, so I would like more economic studies. We want Matt Hancock to keep his promise that cost will not be a barrier to access.”
To read the open-access white paper in full, visit Sage Journal of Psychopharmacology. Authors include Drug Science's Katrin Anne Schlag, David S Baldwin, Michael Barnes, Steve Bazire, Rachel Coathup, H Valerie Curran, Rupert McShane, Lawrence D Phillips, Ilina Singh, and David J Nutt.
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