Monthly cost for medical cannabis treatment fell 41% in 2 years in Brazil

health

Although treatment has become more accessible, patients who depend exclusively on the Unified Health System (SUS)

According to a survey carried out by Cannect, the largest medical cannabis ecosystem in Latin America, in a database with 35 thousand patients, over a two-year period (between November 2021 and 2023), the average monthly cost of treatment with CBD (the plant’s main active ingredient) in Brazil fell from R$508.35 to around R$300, a reduction of 41%.

With the gradual consolidation of this market in the country, strategies such as negotiation with partner brands, qualified information to support the rational use of cannabinoid therapy and logistical integration supported by a cutting-edge technological platform were essential for reducing this cost with a reduction of 70% in the value of shipping in the same period (which went from more than R$400 to R$120). The costs of medical and dental consultations for patients seeking cannabis treatment also reduced by 42% (from an average of R$300 to R$175).

Allan Paiotti, CEO of Cannect, attributes the drop in the average cost of consultations to the greater number of doctors interested in updating themselves on cannabis to prescribe the therapy to their patients, associated with the breaking of the taboo on the topic among these professionals, resulting from the increase in studies scientific research on the effectiveness of cannabis for patients with epilepsy, anxiety and chronic pain, for example.

“In 2015, for example, when the first regulations on the subject were established in the country, few professionals had knowledge in prescribing, which restricted the diversification of specialists and increased costs. With more prescribing doctors, the patient benefits from access.”

In contrast to the reduction in medication costs, the slow processing of bills and implementation of cannabis in the SUS in states and municipalities that have already approved the availability of medications in the public service generates a high cost to the public coffers. An example is the state of São Paulo, which had the law sanctioned in January this year, without effective publication until now, almost a year later. As a result, the state reached record spending this year on legal proceedings, in the order of R$25.6 million.

“Although treatment has become more accessible to the population, the cost is still a challenge for the neediest patients, preventing broad and unrestricted benefits for those who depend exclusively on the Unified Health System (SUS). With no alternative guaranteed by law, patients need to go to court”,

concludes Paiotti.

About medical cannabis

According to a survey carried out by Kaya Mind, around 430 thousand people are treated with medicinal cannabis in Brazil. The number is more than double that of 2022, when the number of patients did not reach 200 thousand.

It is estimated that Brazil has around 130 million people with pathologies and symptoms potentially treatable with medicinal cannabis, which is a powerful treatment option for children with different degrees of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refractory epilepsy, dystonia, pain chronic disease, fibromyalgia, encephalopathy, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, depression, among other diseases.

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