A new initiative is giving patients a direct voice in how the UK’s medical cannabis market is shaped, as global producers look to better understand the needs of the community.
Launching this month, Patient Panel is a new medical cannabis market research consultancy that aims to put patients front and centre of the UK sector and its future development.
Medical cannabis patients in the UK continue to be largely absent from formal conversations around the market’s development, when the simple fact is, they are the market, the organisation said in a press release.
Patient Panel is designed to help global companies better understand how to succeed in the current and future UK medical cannabis market, bringing key insights to cannabis-focused brands and businesses.
“The UK has the potential to be an enormous medical cannabis market,” said founder, Dave Barton, a British medical cannabis patient and creative director at cannabis marketing agency, thermidor<, as well as host of the lobsterpot< podcast.
“But with some 100,000 patients in a nation of 67 million people, there are still significant hurdles to overcome. That starts with understanding our patient community.”
Serving the patient community
Patient Panel has announced its first partnership project with Canadian Licensed Producer, Rubicon Organics, and the British medical cannabis patient advocacy service, PatientsCann UK.
Rubicon Organics’s VP of Marketing and New Business, Mathieu Aubin, sees a great deal of potential in the UK.
“A lot of producers based in countries with medical and adult use markets are content to simply export their surplus product,” he said.
“While this makes sense economically – especially given tough regulatory environments – this doesn’t serve the patient community. Working with Patient Panel, our intention is to have these conversations with patients, to better understand their needs, and offer products that they actually need.”
Mohammad Ish Wasway, Founder of PatientsCann, added: “UK patient needs haven’t been given the attention they deserve by overseas producers; so it’s great to see Rubicon Organics begin their work with their input.
“It sets a positive precedent and demonstrates their commitment to serving patients and the medical cannabis industry as a whole.”
Shaping the sector in a ‘responsible way’
Patients Panel offers a range of custom research services for companies keen to learn more about the needs of the UK medical cannabis community.
As more projects become available, its says patients will be paid for participating in market research, giving them the opportunity to have a say in the future of the UK medical cannabis market.
“We need to shape the market in a responsible way, ” said Barton.
“Successful cannabis has to be responsible cannabis. It needs to be regulated. But even more importantly, it needs to be understood. That’s why companies operating in the cannabis sector need patient perspectives.”
Patient Panel is looking to partner with stakeholders, including international producers and distributors looking to supply the UK medical cannabis market, patient advocacy groups, medical cannabis consumption lounges, clinics, doctors, and patients themselves.
For more information, visit www.patientpanel.uk
