[Ad] How Medical Cannabis is Changing Lives in the UK Right Now
The UK has had legal medical cannabis since 2018. However, it is only the past couple of years that the public has started to cotton on to its therapeutic uses in mass numbers. More than 60,000 people across the UK are now legally treating their medical conditions with cannabis. But not only that, medical cannabis is bringing hundreds of millions of pounds into the UK economy yearly while taking people out of the illicit black market.
This article will explore a local Shropshire case study of one family who has had their lives turned around by medical cannabis, the potential for even wider societal and economic effects, and some of the risks in the road ahead for patients and the business sector. This, is how medical cannabis in the UK is quietly undergoing a green revolution that could change the country forever.
Telford Girl Recovers from Severe Epilepsy Using Cannabis Oil
In 2018, a five year old girl from Telford – Sienna Richardson – was diagnosed with Landau Kleffner syndrome. This rare form of epilepsy left her suffering near constant seizures that effected her speech and cognition, and left her unable to participate in school or other day to day activities.
Various treatments were tried, including steroids and other pharmaceuticals, with none working. However, after medical cannabis was legalised in the UK that year, the family were able to obtain a private clinic prescription for cannabis oil. This, the family says, changed Sienna’s life.
If stories like this have got you wondering where the best medical cannabis clinic in the country is right now, you’ll need a great comparison site and resource guide that will help you in the right direction. From patient service to cost, to strain selection to delivery methods, experts have gathered all the knowledge you need to make an informed choice.
By 2020, the Richardsons reported Sienna was having far fewer seizures. She was back at school and living a mostly normal and healthy life.
Medical Cannabis Could Bring People Back to Work?
As well as treatments for severe epilepsy, clinical research has shown cannabis has promise in treating reported symptoms of common ailments like:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Chronic pain
- Insomnia
- Appetite and eating issues
One 2024 study by The Royal College of Psychiatrists found that 9% of adults have taken time off work for mental health reasons in recent years. Although not the same, chronic pain has strong correlations with poor mental health for obvious reasons.
Although there is limited research on the topic, wider access to medical cannabis could help the some 1 million people in the UK permanently off work due to chronic pain back into the workforce.
One American study in 2018 backed this up. When Washington D.C. began legal medical cannabis sales in 2013, the number of hours worked by over the 50s age group shot up by some 5% in just one year. Interestingly, workplace fatalities across all age groups also went down by around 33% over the three years after legalising.
Although the authors stressed more clinical study was needed, the evidence does suggest widening access to medical cannabis can have positive effects on the workforce and economy.
Businesses and Employment are Booming
The UK medical cannabis market – including commercial CBD sales – is expected to be worth more than £1 billion in 2025.
Another unique opportunity is in the rise of unique medical cannabis strains. There isn’t a lot to differentiate two brands of paracetamol, for example. However, with medical cannabis, different strains can have subtly different medical effects, tastes and subjective experiences. As a medical patient, consulting clinicians will work with you to find a strain suitable for treating your condition.
As well as as being the second largest market by number of patients and spend in Europe, the UK is a huge grower of medical cannabis. One of the biggest in the world in fact. Currently though, most of this domestic supply is currently exported or sat in warehouses, for various political and legal reasons.
Regardless of whether or not that changes anytime soon, it proves that the UK has the capacity to deliver world-leading medicinal cannabis infrastructure – which could be huge for the economy.
The Risks and the Future Roads
Medical cannabis may be helping a lot of people right now, but there could be many more. It is estimated by some studies that around 5% of people buying black market cannabis regularly, are doing so for legitimate medical purposes. In the UK that could be some 50,000 or more people.
Which is not to mention all the people who are unaware of the potential benefits of medical cannabis. In Germany, for example, around 900,000 people are now treating their conditions with medical weed, or about 1.4% of the population.
In the UK, that stands currently at about 0.01%. Clearly, there is huge room for growth in the market – growth that could benefit tens of thousands more patients and bring hundreds of millions more pounds into the British economy.
