Epiodolex Is The First Ever FDA Approved Cannabis Medicine But With A $32K A Year Price Tag!
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So good news bad news I guess. The good news is that there is finally a FDA approved cannabis medicine on the market so we now have a precedence that it can be done and that marijuana can be considered a medicine. So all that is a huge boon to the cannabis industry.
Epiodolex is a cannabis-based epilepsy medicine that has been shown to be 45 percent effective in cases of severe epilepsy The two most severe forms of epilepsy being Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. Here is a study on the drug published by the American Epilepsy Society
$32K A Year To Use Epiodolex A Bit Much?
So here is the bad news part. As the price tag to use this medicine is $32,000 a year. Now with insurance and such, the cost comes down to affordable, but is this just not further proof that when there is enough money involved and big pharma can get their piece things happen!
GW Pharmaceuticals says that they are pricing this cannabis-based epilepsy medicine according to what the going market price for current comparable epilepsy treatment medicines is. Would it not be nice if they actually decided to make just a reasonable profit and make this so affordable that anyone that needed it could get access to it?
It’s not just them but the current insurance system and how it does things so its understandable to some extent. Ok, I am off my soapbox and here is the skinny on how someone can afford this medicine at its current price.
How to get Epiodolex Epilepsy Medicine At An Affordable Price:
- Obtain insurance coverage that will cover this type of medicine and you may be able to get it for as little as $200 a month! I would ask my insurance company to make sure that they will cover this and what the cost is before signing up.
- If you are covered by Medicaid then you could obtain this epilepsy medicine for as little as $5-$10 a month!
- If you do not have insurance coverage you can apply to for what is called Patient Assistance Programs that are run by the pharmaceutical companies.
If you are suffering from severe epilepsy you may be in a position where you can not work enough to get insurance but do not fall into the poverty levels to get it free or maybe Medicaid is not enough to cover the expense. So another alternative is to look into living in a state that has legal medical marijuana laws that will allow you to get CBD oil to treat your epilepsy which can run you $100-600 a month depending on your need.
Pricing Comparison Of CBD OIl Treatment For Epilepsy
Just so you can compare some cost and to give us something to think about if you are in a legal state then you could get CBD oil comparative to this FDA approved medicine for $1200 – $7200 a year. Plus if you are somewhat able to grow your own you could literally grow your own medicine and pay very little.
According to the Colorado Epilepsy Association Using a marijuana strain like Charlotte’s Web which is a high CBD strain that is frequently used to make CBD oil to treat epilepsy the cost would be as little as $100 a month up to $600 a month depending on the dosage needed to control epilepsy.
When Will Epiodolex Be Available?
As it stands by September the FDA will have reclassified this cannabis epilepsy drug and it should be available shortly thereafter. Please consult with your physician about obtaining this drug as a treatment for your epilepsy.