Poll: French healthcare professionals overwhelmingly in favor of prescribing medical cannabis

While the European Parliament working on a European resolution on medical cannabis, The French government's latest announcement by Agnès Buzyn is little publicized. After admitting that France is lagging behind in the field of medical cannabis and rekindling the hopes of patients last May on France Inter, no further news. While the government has not yet made any announcement on the matter, the French company is already ready to go.

Healthcare professionals in favor of medical cannabis

In a survey conducted from July 10 to August 21 on the International Journal of Medicine, 56% of healthcare professionals surveyed were in favor of prescribing cannabis. However, 38% of them were against and 5% did not express an opinion due to a lack of information on the subject. A total of 699 healthcare professionals were surveyed. The majority admit to a lack of scientific evidence on the effect of cannabis on specific diseases, but consider it an effective painkiller. The results of’a survey published in June by Terra Nova show even greater support from the civilian population: 82% are in favor of medical cannabis.

Scientific research on cannabis does not seem to be a priority for the French government. Elsewhere in the world, in Israel and the United States for example, research is flourishing: last year, the American Academy of Medicine, Science and Engineering published an analytical report and listed over 10,700 studies that test the efficacy of cannabis on a wide range of pathologies.

Medical advice

For LRM MP Olivier Véran, «what's missing is a large-scale study of non-disease-specific use». Also a neurologist, he favors «compassionate access» based on the social security system. In theory, medical cannabis is legal in France, with a derogation for Sativex but it is still not available because the state does not want to integrate it into the social security system due to its high price.

Nicolas Authier, a psychiatrist specializing in pharmacology and addictology, recommends setting up a patient registry and a legal system to support research: «Doctors and patients would be registered on this registry, which would be managed by a research team attached to Inserm. Patients would then benefit from a supervised supply of standardized cannabis extracts from production and distribution controlled by a state monopoly». He suggests coordination between healthcare professionals, patient associations and health authorities. «Patients suffering from chronic and severe illnesses that are refractory to available medicines could thus move from self-medication with an illicit substance to a legal, medical and secure framework».