The UK medical cannabis market is set to become the second largest in Europe this year, according to the latest data from the European Cannabis Report by Prohibition Partners: Eighth Edition.
This development comes as the European medical cannabis industry is expected to reach a turnover of €550 million by the end of 2023, with the market and its global supply chain continuing the trend of diversification seen throughout throughout the year 2022.
Germany and the UK receive the “overwhelming majority” of new supplies and drive growth across the continent.
The UK medical cannabis industry has seen a “massive increase” in size every year since 2019 – growth which, unlike other markets, has not been significantly affected by external economic difficulties.
In response to a request from Prohibition Partnersthere NHS Business Services Authority released figures which paint a clearer picture of the market for medical cannabis products sold in the UK outside the NHS circuit.
According to the report, which smoothly assumes that all quarters are equal, the total number of “unlicensed” products (including cannabis oils and flowers available under private prescription) sold in 2022 was approximately 76,000, representing a 90% year-over-year increase, with some odd revenue recognition.
For example, if a patient is prescribed three packets of Tilray Oil 25:1 and one packet of Noidecs 20:1, it would be two products.
In February 2023 there will be around 90 products on the UK market, including cannabis flowers and extracts.
In August 2022, the average price per gram of flower was €11.4, while oils stood at €7.1 per millilitre.
Origin of medical cannabis in the UK
While there are still only a handful of patients who can access medical cannabis through the NHS, the UK’s growth is being fueled by a ‘proliferation of dispensaries which offer private consultations and prescriptions’ .
These private dispensaries are primarily dedicated medical cannabis dispensaries, although some were pre-existing medical dispensaries that now offer medical cannabis treatment, but all are either online only or offer some form of online service.
In the UK, doctors occupy a unique position in the medical cannabis market when it comes to imports. To import medical cannabis products in bulk, an importer must obtain an ‘advance request’ letter from a prescribing doctor, which costs around £1,000.
This letter specifies the required quantities of products for the needs of the doctor’s prescription during the following months. The importer can only import the exact quantity of each product mentioned in the letter, and each letter can only be used once.
Since only medical specialists are able to initiate treatment with medical cannabis, the number of doctors capable of producing these letters is extremely limited: they would be just over 100.
This unique dynamic means that the relationships between dispensaries, their doctors and the country’s importers and distributors are more crucial than in any other European market.
Therefore, for medical cannabis companies to secure a significant share of the UK market, they must control or be part of an “intertwined web” of dispensaries, doctors, pharmacies, importers and distributors. .
Currently, three such networks cover around 60% of the total market, although around 20 clinics are active in the UK:
- Lyphe Group, which owns the largest pharmacy and clinic in the UK
- Curaleaf, which owns importer Rokshaw and manufactures its own products
- IPS Pharma/Grow Pharma, which operates the Cannabis Access Clinics, My Access Clinic and Integro Clinic
Product availability in the UK remains spotty, largely due to the still difficult and bureaucratic import system.
Of the 202 products currently listed in the UK Product Database, which tracks the development of medical cannabis in the UK, only 88 are currently available to patients.
The price per milliliter of the extracts currently available are between €2 and €12 (with the exception of a Bedrocan product with a high CBD content), most of which are between €4 and €6 per millilitre. Prices for flower products were between €6 and €14 per gram, with most products costing between €8.40 and €9.60 per gram.
