New data shows that the dispensing of medical cannabis products in the UK increased significantly in 2021, as experts predict millions of patients could benefit.
Exclusive data obtained by Prohibition Partners from the NHS shows a 425 percent increase in dispensations of unlicensed medical cannabis products in England in 2021.
It comes as the cannabis industry experts have predicted that around 100,000 patients will be able to access medical cannabis products in Europe for the first time in 2022.
According to new research findings, this brings the total number of patients in Europe to 341,595, which could rise to 1.6 million by 2026.
If the latest figures are correct, the UK could constitute about a quarter of the entire European medical cannabis market by 2026.
There are now close to 20 private clinics and over 10,000 medical cannabis patients in the UK, prescribed medicines for a range of conditions, including anxiety and chronic pain.
Elsewhere in Europe
Sales forecasts for the medical cannabis market in Europe suggest that €353 million worth of medical cannabis will be sold on the continent in 2022, rising to €2.3 billion by 2026 – a potential 544 percent increase over the forecast period.
Many countries in Europe have continued to improve their medical cannabis access schemes over the last 12 months after a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Germany, the largest medical cannabis market in Europe, the market continued to grow steadily in 2021, with a 43 percent increase in sales of medical cannabis to pharmacies. Over 100 types of medical cannabis flowers are now also available to patients in Germany.
As of March 2022, 15 countries in Europe allow for the commercial production of medical cannabis.
Further progressive legislation, liberalization, and development of a mainstreaming cannabis industry in Europe over the next five years will combine to continually improve patient access to medical cannabis and drive exponential growth of the market, The European Cannabis Report: 7th Edition finds.
Read more industry news via Cannabis Wealth.
Adult-use cannabis
The story that is drawing the most international attention is the upcoming liberalization of adult-use cannabis in Europe.
The ruling coalition of Germany has promised full legalization and commercialization of adult-use (recreational) cannabis in this legislative term, and legal sales of adult-use cannabis are set to start in Switzerland by the end of 2022, followed by those in the Netherlands in Q3 2023.
Prohibition Partners predicts that sales of adult-use cannabis in Europe could reach €1.5 billion by 2026. Still, this forecast depends on swift progress and full implementation of adult-use legalization in Germany.
European cannabis industry analyst and author of The European Cannabis Report: 7th Edition, published by Prohibition Partners, said: “Hundreds of thousands of patients in Europe are benefiting from improved access to medical cannabis and no longer have to turn to illicit sources for their medicine.
“The liberalization of adult-use cannabis in Europe could release millions of people from unnecessary criminalization and provide a much-needed economic boost as we emerge from the COVID pandemic. The impending legalization of adult-use cannabis in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland offers the first glance of this socioeconomic opportunity.”
Disclaimer: https://cannabishealthnews.co.uk/2022/04/11/millions-of-patients-to-benefit-from-medical-cannabis-in-europe-experts-predict-access22
