An online crowdfunder has been launched to raise funds to kickstart a key project developing a health economics analysis of cannabis on the NHS.
The crowdfunder, being run by the CIC, aims to raise £6,000 to £8,000 to enable the project to start. A total of £12,000 worth of funding has already been secured.
The University of York is leading on the project, which is being supported by the CIC and Drug Science.
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Chair of the Cannabis Industry Council, Professor Mike Barnes, commented: “We need to show that cannabis can be introduced to the NHS at net-zero cost, which I think will be the case, however, we still need to prove it.
“This study will play a vital part in the industry building the case for cannabis-based prescriptions, and we urge supporters to donate to make this a reality.”
Head of research at Drug Science, Dr Anne Katrin Schlag, said: “Many patients are successfully using cannabis-based medicinal products to treat chronic pain. Unfortunately, in the UK, medical cannabis is not available through the NHS to treat this condition, meaning that patients face significant costs to access the medicine via private healthcare.
“With our health economics analysis, we hope to show that – quite apart from improving patients’ quality of life – medical cannabis can also be cost-effective when compared to other treatments currently available.”
The research will include a comparison of costs with other treatments, and a consideration of cost and outcomes over a one-year time period.
An early economic modeling tool will be used to consider the costs, resource use and utility of prescribing medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. It is hoped the tool will demonstrate the viability of prescribing cannabis on the NHS under different scientific assumptions.
The crowdfunder launched on 11 October, and runs initially for four weeks. The crowdfunder can be accessed here – https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/cannabisonnhs.
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