Despite having restrictive medical cannabis laws, the United Kingdom is home to one of the largest medical cannabis industries in Europe. However, boosting safe access to medical cannabis through the National Health Service (NHS) could yield a significant economic boost to the UK and dramatically increase the size of the nation’s emerging cannabis industry.

A collaborative economic study was recently conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Curaleaf Clinic that focused on the potential financial impact of broadening access to medical cannabis for suffering patients in the UK.

“A new report has suggested that increasing access to medical cannabis on the NHS could help thousands of people with long-term health conditions return to employment.” reported Mirror in its local coverage. “A report suggests the NHS could unlock a staggering £13.3billion for the economy over a decade and get thousands back to work by increasing access to medical cannabis.”

“The analysis, which utilised UK data on long-term illness, employment, and hospital admissions, as well as evidence from countries like Germany, claims increased access could help thousands of Brits with long-term health conditions return to work. It also predicted a 28 per cent annual reduction in hospital admissions among those eligible.” the outlet also reported.

Access to medical cannabis therapies through the NHS, which was first legalized in 2018, has proven to only help a small number of patients, according to a government report published earlier this year. Meanwhile, private prescriptions have helped fill the void.

According to a separate government report, medical cannabis prescribed through private clinics in England increased by 130% between 2023-2024. Below is a graph of historic prescription data, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC):

“Very few people in England are likely to get an NHS prescription for medical cannabis.” writes the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) on its website. According to the NHS, its doctors can only prescribe medical cannabis for the following conditions:

• children and adults with rare, severe forms of epilepsy
• adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy
• people with muscle stiffness and spasms caused by multiple sclerosis

A recent poll found that if NHS doctors were allowed to prescribe medical cannabis more widely, a vast majority would choose to do so.

“Out of 500 doctors currently practicing in the NHS, almost half of which were GPs, three quarters said that treatment options for women’s health conditions, such as endometriosis, PMDD and menopause, are too limited.” reported Cannabis Health News in its local coverage. “Meanwhile, over two-thirds (67%) say patients with chronic pain conditions take up the vast majority of their week and feel there are too few options for treating patients with conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis and back pain.”

“When asked about the type of alternative treatment they believe should be available, almost nine in 10 (87%) doctors agreed that they’d be open to prescribing medical cannabis to manage chronic pain, and 80% of GPs would prescribe it to manage women’s health conditions, if it were part of the NHS toolkit.” the outlet also stated.