Denmark: medical cannabis pilot project already has over 2,000 patients

Last January, Denmark launched its medical cannabis pilot program for four years. According to data presented by the Danish Minister of Health to the’European Cannabis Symposium in Copenhagen and relayed by Marijuana Business Daily, After just over a year in operation, the program has exceeded the authorities' expectations, and already has more than 2,000 patients.

A success story

The Danish Medicines Agency, which is overseeing the project, only expected to register some 500 patients for the first year of operation, but it seems to have underestimated patient interest in medical cannabis. The majority of patients are women between the ages of 42 and 64. The majority of patients use cannabis to treat neuropathic pain - pain caused by damage to the nervous system. They currently have access to 6 different products, including flowers. Sativex, the Marinol and Cesamet are authorized, but are not part of the pilot test.

The Danish medical cannabis has even attracted 335 foreign patients seeking access to medical cannabis. Most of them come from Sweden, where medical cannabis is not yet legal. authorized only on a case-by-case basis. In addition to patients, the program has also convinced doctors, more than 429 of whom now prescribe medical cannabis. They can do so for any pathology, but there are some recommendations: the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis or following damage to the spinal cord, nausea caused by chemotherapy and neuropathic pain.

Domestic production on the point of starting up

For the time being, domestic production has not yet started, and the program operates thanks to Dutch and Canadian imports. That said, 23 licenses have already been granted and a dozen more are under study. Among the licensed producers are Canadian multinationals Canopy and Aurora who have chosen Denmark as their gateway to the European market. The Danish recently authorized massive cannabis exports. Domestic production should begin this summer, with exports to follow.

“We would like to see exports in full swing in Denmark at best in a few months at most in a year,» explains Danish Health Minister Ellen Trane Nørby. «If we want medical cannabis to benefit patients in the long term, when it comes to price, there has to be competition.» Indeed, the Danish authorities have decided to let prices fluctuate according to supply and demand, but in the absence of domestic production they remain high. This is why medical cannabis is currently reimbursed at 50%. Prices are «simply too high to compete with the black market and exceed patients» ability to pay", explains the Minister.