ARTICLE
BRITISH PEOPLE DENIED TREATMENT
Despite medicinal cannabis being legalised on the 1st of November 2018, Britain’s most in need continue to be denied life-saving treatment. What were we promised? Following years of lobbying, November 1st was supposed to be the beginning of medicinal cannabis prescriptions being available, via the NHS, for those most in need of alternative treatment. Of course, nobody expected to be given access to legal cannabis at the drop of a hat. Only patients who have already explored every other available treatment option were ever supposed to gain access to medicinal cannabis.
What is the reality? At the time of writing, not a single person (adult or child) has been prescribed cannabis via the NHS. Patients have been prescribed cannabis via private surgeries, at great expense which is completely unsustainable for the majority of people. Whilst Britain does not have an opiate epidemic to the extent of America’s, patients that are prescribed them are being prevented from coming off of these to try cannabis. But for the patients willing to pay for private treatment, there is an opportunity to try the far gentler medicinal cannabis. One of these patients, a sufferer of Crohn’s disease, said “It’s a hard thing to do to yourself to put up with becoming addicted to opioids or putting up with the vomiting and nausea that come with immune-suppressing drugs,” “But the £695 price tag, for only a month’s worth, takes the edge off the good news,”
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HEMP&CBDMAG
The parents of children seriously affected by epilepsy were at the forefront of the campaign; with the parents of Alfie Dingley being amongst the most heavily featured in the national press. Patients undergoing chemotherapy are also eligible to be considered for medicinal cannabis treatment, intended to alleviate nausea and discomfort caused by this particularly aggressive cancer treatment. Those suffering from multiple sclerosis or chronic pain conditions are also eligible to receive cannabis via the NHS.
The patient also noted that he would not be able to financially support his treatment in the long term, meaning he will have no choice but to return to the medications he feels has ravaged his body and prevented him from reaching the quality of life that cannabis can provide. The infrastructure and education required by authorities necessary for a system of medicinal cannabis to really flourish also appears to be severely lacking. Significant issues have occurred relating to importing this substance, and these delays can lead to real problems for patients. Parents have been apprehended upon entering the UK with their children’s perfectly legal and legitimate medication; the cannabis is seized, and children are left without medicine for an unspecified amount of time. This effectively places the lives of such children at risk, and is completely avoidable. A child receiving cannabis treatment, Tegan Appleby, has her medicine held by customs; devastating her parents and delaying her
WRITTEN BY
Rhiannon Smith
MAG For many, this change in the law was expected to be a blessing. Some families, likely a significantly higher percentage than would publicly admit, have taken matters into their own hands; sourcing cannabis oil (even making it themselves) illegally to treat their children. Caring for a child with a debilitating condition is difficult enough, without the looming threat of prosecution; so this was a welcome change to say the least.
treatment. It is just days ago, at the time of writing, that this was returned to the family. Another problem arises with the length of time necessary to import cannabis for medicinal purposes. A license must be obtained from the Home Office, and the whole process can take up to 28 days; by which point a prescription may have run out of time, leaving the recipient without.
