Greek doctors see pharmaceutical cannabis as another arrow in their therapeutic quiver that may target pain (cancer-related, neuropathic) in Greece.
And as with any new pharmaceutical weapon added to the challenging field of chronic painful diseases and their management, a clear framework for prescription is required, as they point out, both from specialized doctors who have the ability to prescribe and from the patients who will receive them.
The Greek special code in the electronic prescription system of EOPYY for the dispensing of pharmaceutical cannabis was activated two weeks ago, while the market supply had preceded. Two major Greek pharmaceutical companies (PHARMASEVER and LAVIPHARM) provide the drugs, which are produced in a unit in Corinth (Tikun Olam).
Αccording to data obtained by Proto Thema, several dozen pharmaceutical cannabis preparations have been prescribed, approximately 70 up to last Friday. It should be noted that this is a prescribed medication, which, however, is not reimbursed by EOPYY, so the patient bears the full cost. From the price list of the Ministry of Health, the price range is between €75.41 and €165.91.
The first medication was given to a patient with psoriatic arthritis, a rheumatologic autoimmune disease that causes, among other symptoms, unbearable pain.
The correct position of the new medications in the pharmaceutical arsenal is being sought by Dr. Aias-Theodoros Papastavrou, Vice President of the Hellenic Medical Society for Cannabis. “At this stage, their circulation is accompanied by increased expectations – understandably because pain is a major medical issue. However, these medications are not panaceas. They are second-line drugs. First, we will administer conventional drugs to patients, and then, if there is no effective coverage, we will proceed to pharmaceutical cannabis,” the specialist says, speaking to Proto Thema. He further notes that both in Greece and in Europe, the medical community is ready to prescribe pharmaceutical cannabis preparations, adding that “their circulation seems to have emerged as a result of intense activism.”
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Targeting Pain
Approximately 100 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain.
In Europe, they are estimated to be around 70 million.
Precise data for Greece does not exist; however, a recent study counted around 6,000 patients in Pain Clinics, of whom 2,500 had neuropathic pain.
According to doctors at Pain Clinics, the two major categories of patients who are concerned with pharmaceutical cannabis are oncology patients and those diagnosed with neuropathic pain (caused by damage or dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system).
