The UK receives its first batch of medical cannabis

The United Kingdom received its first shipment of medical cannabis last Thursday. This will allow patients with a prescription to obtain the plant legally and safely at pharmacies. Since last November, date of British legalization, patients with prescriptions had virtually no access to cannabis-based treatments.

A medication that is not available

Patients, for whom cannabis is often the only effective treatment option, previously had no choice but to obtain it on their own. Although legal, the medication had not been available in pharmacies until now. However, even personal imports have proven to be extremely complicated.

First, because of import laws that require cannabis to be imported by a company licensed to do so. And second, because of the significant costs this entails for patients. The treatment was originally supposed to be covered by the public health system, but given the reluctance of public health services to prescribe the medication, most authorized patients have turned to private doctors. In fact, public medical authorities have expressly public health officials have been advised not to prescribe the drug due to the lack of clinical evidence of its effectiveness.

For patients, cannabis will cost £700 (€800) per month per ounce (28 grams), or nearly €30 per gram. Illegal cannabis is at least three times cheaper but untested and of inconsistent quality, with, moreover, unknown THC levels, and is therefore ill-suited to the precision required for medical treatment. For patients who cannot afford the high cost and who have been denied treatment by public health services, «illegal» cannabis is still considered an option.

The creation of a supply route

The shipment of 800 grams of legal cannabis was imported from the Netherlands. It consists of 400 grams of Afina flowers and 400 grams of Bedica flowers, both produced by Bedrocan. This relatively small quantity is due to the small number of registered patients. The shipment will be stored at a pharmacy, the location of which is being kept confidential, and will then be distributed to patients at their homes or through their local pharmacies.

«This is the first example of the creation of a true supply route» explains Henry Fischer from Grow Biotech, the startup that imported cannabis in collaboration with IPS Specials and European Cannabis Holdings. «So far, there have only been individual imports of small quantities.».

Although the UK’s medical cannabis program is still far from perfect, this import marks the first step toward establishing a safe supply of cannabis for the small number of authorized patients. Furthermore, the remaining stock will be sufficient to cover new prescriptions, and future imports will ensure a continuous supply. Given the lack of domestic production—except for research purposes—the United Kingdom is likely to remain dependent on foreign imports for the foreseeable future.