A report released by the MS Society states that not nearly enough medical cannabis patients have been able to obtain medical cannabis through the National Health Service (NHS), despite research and firsthand accounts of its effectiveness as a medicine for MS patients.
The MS Society is taking a stand on the lack of progress and access to cannabis in the UK, especially since medical cannabis has been legal there for almost three years. The organization has created the #ApprovedButDenied campaign to bring attention to the lack of proper access, in addition to a 30-page report filled with data regarding MS patients in the UK.
“Sativex, a cannabis-based spray, was approved in England in 2019 for use in moderate to severe spasticity when other treatments haven’t worked,” the organization wrote on its website. “Despite this, many people with MS are still being denied access to Sativex, because their local health bodies, called Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), are not prescribing it. This has resulted in an unacceptable postcode lottery, with Sativex only funded in 49 out of 106 CCGs. This must change—everyone with MS deserves access to effective treatments.”
The organization’s report states that Sativex is only supported by 49 out of 106 CCGs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimates that 4,800 people are currently eligible for a four-week Sativex trial to see if the medicine works for them, but only 630 people had access to Sativex in May 2021 (which is the most current data that was available at the time the report was written).
MS Society’s Policy Manager Fredi Cavander-Attwood expressed her disappointment at the lack of progress for MS patients in England. “It’s completely unacceptable that two years after receiving NICE approval, Sativex