On April 20th, 2023, Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom (UK) debated the economic benefits of medical cannabis. What were the key points which they discussed?
Potential economic benefits of developing medical cannabis in UK
A paper by the Centre for Medical Cannabis began the discussion. Medical cannabis market should reach £2.4 billion by 2024. In the meantime, domestic CBD market is expected to be worth £1 billion by 2025. What is more, some predictions state that a successful business might generate over 100,000 new jobs.
Jeremy Wright, a fellow Conservative MP said:
“It just doesn’t make sense to create a need, then refuse to enable our home businesses to fill it, and instead import all the items.
Additionally, there is a need to understand possible financial advantages of the medical cannabis market. That include the possibility of creation of more jobs, higher tax receipts, and lower healthcare expenditures. Some lawmakers voiced worry that the UK was losing ground on other countries in the medical cannabis sector. The main reason to worry was that this would result in lost business opportunities.
Current barriers for medical cannabis in UK
The government should try to lower the barriers to access, according to MPs from both parties, who also agreed that medical cannabis should be available on prescription to those who could benefit from it. They emphasised that the medical cannabis sector required clear and consistent regulation.
The government also highlighted how much more study is required to understand cannabis’ potential medical benefits. A few politicians demanded more money for clinical trials. The discussion emphasised the need for additional study and regulation. All parties of lawmakers agreed that patients who potentially benefit from medical cannabis should have access to it, and they urged the government to take steps to lower access challenges.
In conclusion, there is an ongoing discussion, what is promising for the UK medical cannabis market. Current status is under review. “The fact that parliamentarians are discussing the potential of our sector and the action needed to become a world leader is really encouraging,” said Deacon. We know that UK is working on legislations for cannabis market for a long time. United Kingdom is one of expected leader of cannabis and CBD market in the future.