Israel: the Ministry of Health wants to freeze the price of cannabis for autistic patients

The Israeli Ministry of Health has proposed to set up regulations aimed at setting a maximum price for medical cannabis for autistic children and adults, who are regularly treated with the substance. With prices for medical cannabis set to rise in 2019, the Ministry would like to set price limits for these treatments, although it remains to be seen who will pay for patients.

Under the previous arrangement, patients using medical cannabis in Israel paid a fixed monthly fee, regardless of the quantity, dosage or type of cannabis required. However, this is only valid for certain medical conditions, and the Department of Health would like to add autism to this list.

The Ministry's Director General, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, therefore recently sent a letter to ALUT (the Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism), in which he announced that the Ministry of Health had submitted a request to the inter-ministerial committee responsible for monitoring prices. The request concerned freezing the price of cannabis for autism patients, as is already the case for cancer patients.

ALUT had previously been contacted by parents of autistic children and young people, concerned about the imminent implementation of medical cannabis reform, which is expected to lead to a dramatic rise in prices. «My son consumes 60 grams a month, in six bottles costing 250 shekels (64 euros) each. It's an unreasonable price, especially when you consider that it's a last-ditch effort for someone who has tried every other drug,» says Dar, whose child is autistic, and who is part of ALUT. The aim is to charge a maximum of 500 shekels a month, equivalent to 125 euros.

In children with particularly severe autism, the efficacy of cannabis is regularly recognized. It is usually taken in oil form, and is often associated with a reduction in violent behavior, a calming effect, increased appetite and improved communication, greatly improving the lives of patients and their families.

The public health system should take action and fund the purchase of medical cannabis for autism patients, but its intervention in the market could also lead to a chain reaction, harming the cannabis market and producers.