At Curaleaf Clinic, we’re deeply committed to expanding the body of research surrounding medical cannabis. We recognise that one of the key barriers to NHS access is the lack of research. UK doctors rely on NICE guidelines and prescribing protocols when prescribing within the NHS. However, the absence of high-quality research demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of medical cannabis has led NICE to advise that further research is still required.
By publishing our findings, we are driving forward medical cannabis science in the UK and internationally. This is crucial in helping remove the barriers to access that currently exist for patients.
What is the UK Medical Cannabis Registry?
The UK Medical Cannabis Registry is a patient registry that is run by Curaleaf Clinic (formerly Sapphire Clinics). It was established in December 2019 to gather prospective clinical data from patients on the Curaleaf Access scheme prescribed medical cannabis products.
The UK Medical Cannabis Registry ensures that medical cannabis prescribing is evaluated in a responsible way, capturing essential data including prescribed formulations, adverse events, and patient-reported outcome measures for a wide range of conditions.
2023 research roundup
As we settle into 2024, we wanted to share a quick recap of the condition-specific research that was published in 2023 using data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.
Other research we have published:
- A Patient evaluation of the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
- Clinical outcome measures from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
A big thank you to all the patients who contributed their data and made this possible!
Top five insights from 2023 published research
- A Patient Evaluation of the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
The evaluation shows that the majority of patients (92.6%) strongly agreed or agreed that it was important to contribute to medical cannabis research so that the effects of the treatment can be better understood or to improve patient access (97.2%). Most patients (92.2%) also strongly agreed or agreed that contributing to the UK Medical Cannabis Registry would impact the medical care of future patients.
- Outcomes for Anxiety from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
Patients who had received a medical cannabis prescription for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) demonstrated changes in GAD-7 at all time points across the study period.Changes in sleep and quality of life scores were also seen across all time points. Individually at 6 months, 39% of individuals experience a clinically significant change in their anxiety, 50% in their quality of life and 35% in their sleep score.
- Outcomes for Chronic Pain from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
The analysis assessed data from patients who had received a medical cannabis prescription for chronic pain, patients who were prescribed cannabis-based oil products demonstrated statistically significant changes in brief pain inventory, and short-form Mcgill pain questionnaire-2 were recorded at 1, 3, and 6 months compared to baseline. Statistically significant changes were also observed in patients prescribed only dried flower in brief pain inventory Severity Score, and short-form Mcgill pain questionnaire-2 after 1 and 3 months.
- Outcomes for Fibromyalgia from the UK Medical Cannabis RegistryThe data from patients with fibromyalgia showed an associated change in clinical outcomes in patients following prescription of cannabis-based medical products at up to 12 months. This included statistically significant changes in validated fibromyalgia-specific pain, sleep, anxiety, and health-related quality of life scales.
- Clinical Outcome Measures in Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
Patients prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products for symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrated changes in anxiety severity and sleep quality scores between baseline and across all follow-up periods at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.
Clinically significant changes in GAD-7 scores were observed in 50% of patients at 1 month, 42.65% at 3 months, 39.71% at 6 months and 26.47% at 12 months.
You can learn more about the UK Medical Cannabis Registry here.
