Hannah Simon: “Cannabis could be a case study for how we embrace more innovative medicines”

In the latest episode of What’s Your Why, Hannah and Mike speak to Hannah Simon, one of the original leaders in the UK medical cannabis industry, about her journey over the last seven years.

Following a 15-year career in banking and management consultancy, Hannah stumbled upon the emerging medical cannabis sector by accident and was one of the early pioneers when the legislation changed in 2018.

Since then she has held several senior positions, playing a key role in shaping the industry and driving its innovation and growth.

In her current role as chief operations officer at Script Assist she is passionate about enhancing patient access and expanding treatment options to patients whether it be via cannabis clinics or through independent prescribing.

In this episode Hannah opens up about her career before medical cannabis, what brought her to the industry, and her thoughts on how it’s evolved over the last seven years.

“We need cohesion and community in the industry,” she says. “Once we’ve got that we can collectively break down barriers.”

Hannah also discusses the importance of integrating medical cannabis treatment into mainstream healthcare, and the potential for it to pave the way for access to other more innovative medicines.

“For me, it’s embedding it into healthcare because that’s when the sector has achieved its goals…We’ve won as a sector when a patient goes to see a doctor, that doctor knows about cannabis, they give you a prescription and you can walk into Boots and get it.”

She adds: “I’m positive about what this industry represents… I think it could be a really good case study for how we embrace more innovative medicines in this country in general. It starts with cannabis, but it doesn’t necessarily end with cannabis.”

Hear more from Hannah and Mike’s interview with Hannah below or via your usual podcast app.

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