Israel, a pioneer in medical cannabis, publishes a monthly status report of its medical cannabis program. According to data as of the end of October, the number of Israeli patients treated with medical cannabis reached 120,944, about 1,500 more than in September. After 10 years of therapeutic cannabis, the increase in the number of patients is now less sustained month after month, and down 50% from the rate of increase in 2021.
The amount of medical cannabis to which Israeli patients are entitled also increased in October, from around 4,575 kg in September to around 4,600 kg in October. Among these 4.6 tonnes, 4,174 kg (approximately 91%) in inflorescence and 423 kg (approximately 9%) in oils and extractions, this being the eligibility figure and not the amount actually issued, which generally reaches 80% of what is allowed.
In terms of the indications for which patients are entitled to a licence: 65,336 patients hold a license for the “chronic pain” component, ie approximately 55% of patients and a slight decrease compared to the previous month. Second on the list, as usual, is the “other” section, which continues to climb, this time from around 18,479 in September to 19,138 in October.
In third position: 17,485 of the patients are licensed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – a figure which signifies a relatively high increase in the last month in this section compared to the previous months as well as compared to in the chronic pain section.
In fourth place are 12,682 oncology patients (cancer – past or present) – a figure that signifies the continuation of a downward trend that has been going on for around 4 months in the number of people eligible for cannabis for cancer-related indications .
Also in the data, approximately 56,000 patients (approximately 46%) are between 21 and 45 years old, approximately 41,000 patients (approximately 34%) are between 46 and 65 years old, approximately 21,500 patients (approximately 18%) are between 66 and 66 and over, plus fractions of a few additional percent are children and boys up to age 20 – mostly autistic and epileptic.
The French Ministry of Health, which lamented a lack of knowledge about medical cannabis and data from French experimentation with therapeutic cannabis, could probably look for some data there!
