Cancard launches UK’s ‘largest ever’ medical cannabis patient study

Cancard has today announced the launch of a nationwide study which it hopes will inform the government’s long-term drug strategy.

The study will take a ‘deep dive’ into the needs, concerns and experiences of all medical cannabis patients – not just those enrolled on the Cancard scheme.

Cancard will be looking to better understand what needs to change so that patients do not feel discriminated against for their choice of medicine, the organisation said.

Findings from the study will help inform a report titled ‘A Proposal for Change.’

The document, which will be handed in-person to Number 10, will include policy and legal recommendations for the government’s drug plan set to be published by the end of the year.

Cancard founder, Carly Barton, said:

“For too long the government, policy makers, industry and activists have made wild assumptions about consumers’ needs. Personally, I don’t feel anyone is better placed to answer than the person affected by the issue at hand.

“We want to give the patient back their voice and also to directly consult with them about what they want to see change.”

Cannabis policy ‘affects every part of a consumer’s life,’ including basic needs such as the right to be housed, to work and to be seen as a ‘safe parent’ while managing a health condition, Barton added.

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The announcement comes as Cancard begins recruiting patients for a cannabigerol (CBG) study in collaboration with Bod Australia.

Selected patients with Fibromyalgia or IBD will be given a three-month supply of Bod MediCabilis CBG50 and asked to complete a monthly questionnaire to help track improvements to their symptoms.

The full-spectrum cannabis extract contains 50ml of CBG per millilitre and no THC.

Research suggests that CBG has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. However, UK patients do not have access to CBG-rich strains popular in the US and Canada.

Barton told The CANNAVIST:

“Looking at what the majority of patients in the UK are consuming, which relies on illicit market trends, there is limited choice around cannabinoid ratios and rarely would a patient have the opportunity to increase the levels of CBG that they were consuming.

“I felt that it was worth pursuing options to assist patients to access additional CBG to use as companion products to what they are already consuming. 

A spokesperson for BOD Australia said of the collaboration:

“We are delighted to collaborate with Carly on this CBG pilot study. Bod Australia are very patient centric and we will look to collaborate in the future and with other patient advocacy groups.”

Cancard is the biggest cannabis working group in Europe, with almost 40,000 members.