Real-World Evidence: 10,000 UK Patient Outcomes Published

A landmark real-world evidence dataset compiled from anonymised treatment records of over 10,000 UK medical cannabis patients has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The analysis, the largest of its kind conducted in the UK, represents a collaboration between six private cannabis clinics, two NHS trusts, and the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.

Dataset Overview

The dataset covers patients who received cannabis-based medicinal product (CBMP) prescriptions between 2019 and 2024. Outcome measures were collected at baseline and at three, six, and 12-month intervals, covering pain severity, quality of life, sleep, anxiety, and concurrent medication use.

Headline Findings

• Overall quality of life improved significantly at 12 months in 69% of the full cohort
• Pain interference reduced by a mean of 2.1 points on the 10-point scale
• Opioid co-prescribing fell by 38% in the chronic pain subgroup over 12 months
• Adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 8.4% of patients

Methodological Strengths and Limitations

The research team noted that the scale of the dataset provides unprecedented statistical power for subgroup analysis. However, the absence of a control arm and the potential for selection bias inherent in real-world data were acknowledged as key limitations. The authors called for randomised controlled trials to validate the observed associations.

"This dataset is not the final word, but it is an important word. It demonstrates that, for carefully selected patients in a supervised clinical setting, CBMPs produce meaningful outcomes."

The full dataset has been made available under controlled access conditions to qualified researchers.