Cannabis and Its Impact on the Pharmaceutical Industry

How Cannabis Is Shaping the Future of Pharmaceutics? 

More and more cannabis is coming into the big picture. For years, users have told of the medical benefits they’ve gotten from smoking the high-inducing herb. All whilst medical research kept on telling about the harms rather than assessing any of the gains from cannabis use. This has changed, finally, with the advance of legalization. There has been a shift in perception as well as research approaches. We’ve reached a point where cannabis is making its impact wave onto the future of the pharmaceutical industry. The approval of cannabis medicines and supplements has pushed forward for more personalized and holistic healthcare options. 

Cannabis Has Introduced New Treatment Solutions 

Americans can use medical marijuana instead of traditional therapy prescription pills for at least a dozen different illnesses. From chronic pain to neuropathic pain, PTSD, anxiety, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, Tourette’s syndrome, epilepsy, and the list goes on. All of these conditions and many more can be treated with cannabis or in combination with cannabis. 

Cannabis also has multiple areas of impact, thus it can be chosen as a therapeutic agent for more than one health issue at a time. Cannabinoid interactions with other medicines is one of the fields where medical research requires more focus, effort, and resources, in order to provide more successful therapies for cannabis patients. 

Improvement of Patient Outcomes

In fact, a study from 2023 assessed whether medical cannabis treatments improve patients’ health-related quality of life. Treatment with medical cannabis was associated with “improvements on all physical and mental health domain scores” such as general health, bodily pain, physical function, mental health, social function, and vitality. This type of research is important as, in the long run, it can encourage agencies such as the FDA to approve more cannabis medicines. 

If we can somehow sum up how cannabis treatments show improved results in patients, it is as follows: 

1. Physical functioning. Cannabis patients regularly report having greater mobility and less physical pain and discomfort.
2. Emotional acuity. Cannabis can help downsize symptoms of anxiety and depression, which is essential for good mental health.
3. Social engagement. Better mood and reduced pains let patients be more socially agile and engage in every-day activities that ultimately improve their quality of life. 

Economic Impact

Apart from redefining the healthcare landscape and bringing new treatment options for patients around the country, cannabis pharmaceuticals further present lucrative opportunities for the sector. Global revenues from the pharmaceutical cannabis market are expected to reach $2.20 billion in 2025, according to Statista. The United States is poised to generate the most of this money, or the highest revenue of around $992.20 million. 

Challenges and Barriers 

Cannabis is already having a tremendous impact on the pharmaceutical industry. But the main barrier for making the most out of this synergy are regulatory and research challenges. Legalization is not set in stone, so it cannot be easy to roll out a new cannabis medicine in a world where we constantly have to fight for the right to legally use cannabis. In addition, there is the need for more research to fully understand the scope of medicinal effects delivered by cannabinoids and get a clearer grasp of cannabis safety profile. 

Also read on Soft Secret:

• What Does the Future of Cannabis Look Like?

• Legal Cannabis Is Eating the Profits of Drug Companies

• What Are the Most Common Uses of Medicinal Cannabis?