The Patients’ Roundtable at Cannabis Europa
By Anthi Theiopoulou
Sharing my experience from Greece and the UK of the medical cannabis industry from a patient’s perspective
On 26 May, I attended the Cannabis Europa event and took part in a Patients’ Round Table on International Patient Experiences. I represented Greece and the UK and was joined by others from Ireland, Switzerland and Spain to share insights into the challenges and opportunities facing medical cannabis patients in our respective countries.
As someone with a background in International Management, the most fascinating aspect for me was seeing how differently the medical cannabis industry has developed from one country to another. In Ireland, where medical cannabis remains illegal, there is effectively no industry to engage with. In Switzerland, patients attempt to collaborate with the industry but with limited success. In Spain, patient voices are finally beginning to be heard. Greece offers an interesting contrast, where the industry’s monopoly has recognised the value of working directly with patients.
Another key takeaway for all of us at UPA was that patients from every country identified the same issue: a widespread lack of knowledge amongst healthcare professionals and clinicians about medical cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.
The endocannabinoid system was discovered in the early 1990s, transforming scientific understanding of cannabis and helping establish its role as a medicine. This breakthrough encouraged countries to legalise medical cannabis, including the UK and Greece, while others, such as the Netherlands and Germany, adopted broader cannabis reforms. Since medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018, around 70,000 patients have been prescribed what many — including myself — consider a life-changing medicine. Yet the integration of this knowledge into medical school curricula has been far slower than many other healthcare innovations.
To help bridge this knowledge gap and tackle ongoing stigma, UPA has decided to develop a Medical Cannabis Awareness Training programme for healthcare professionals. Created entirely by patients, the programme aims to meet the standards established by the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism.
If you would like to contribute to this project, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact us at policy@unitedpatientsalliance.org.
