Medical marijuana in the UK

[Tjba]

Hi everyone. Has anyone in the UK used a private doctor to obtain medical marijuana? There appear to be quite a few reputable private medical centres that will prescribe it, but at a significant cost. But Having tried pretty much every other pain relief I’m considering giving it a try and would appreciate info on other people’s experiences.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee]

If you have a look at project twenty21 you will be able to find out info, participate in a trial and be able to access many of the clinics offering it. Will require a private consultation and prescription and prices vary.

Hit post before I was finished. The evidence on its efficacy is not brilliant due to absence and quality. Works for some ad not for others and as you say comes at a cost.

[Tjba in reply to desquinn]

Will do, thanks!

[Hidden]

Hi I used to smoke but bought it on the streets and I found for me it did help with the pain and relaxed my muscles but had to stop due to having stomach issues but I was a long time smoker, I have also tried cbd oils which I brought from Holland and Barrett but I find that because I smoked I couldn’t really feel it was working or not, I still have the cbd oils and considering giving them a try again once it’s been a month or 2 of my tolerance lowering from quitting smoking 😊

[Trappedmoth]

I get Sativex on an NHS prescription, originally from my pain consultant. I am very lucky. It is very difficult to get those prescriptions. I use it with Low Dose Naltrexone, which is also good for fibro, but I get it on a private prescription from Dickson Pharmacy in Glasgow: dicksonchemist.co.uk/new/ab.... I believe that Dickson can also get you a private prescription from a Clinic they work with. It's best to ring them for up to date advice. I believe that the cost/month at Dickson is about £400.

Medical cannabis isn't a cure, especially when we only have one choice. However, it is good for anxiety, depression and PTSD as well as pain. It doesn't take it all away, but takes the edge off which makes a big difference. It's also very safe.

Most people in the UK agree that Medical Cannabis should be more accessible. The fact that it isn't is not about health or safety. It's about politics.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Trappedmoth]

"Most people in the UK agree that Medical Cannabis should be more accessible. The fact that it isn't is not about health or safety. It's about politics."

Disagree that is just about politics but that does play into it. The evidence is not clear, nowhere near gold standard for any of the conditions. May be best for nausea. It is being used in a "its better than the alternatives" frame of mind at the moment.

If it was down to personal choice and this reaches into the decriminalisation debate then that would be one thing. But asking a doctor on the NHS to prescribe on the basis of current evidence and as part of a recommendation is unfair on them when their reputation and livelihood is at risk for off label decisions.

There is enough evidence for a doctor to make a balanced decision on an individual case depending on the personal circumstances and their prior treatments. This is almost where we are at but we are nowhere near it being ok to prescribe. And again that is on health, safety and evidence.

There are people it will cause harm to and unfortunately that is where we have the good evidence and wew need more in the other column and particularly in the area of chronic pain.

[Trappedmoth in reply to desquinn]

I have been reading about the whole deal with cannabis for the past 15 years and I would disagree with virtually everything you have said. The reason why there is no gold-standard research is because the government banned it, even criminalized it, claiming that cannabis was somehow worse than heroin and of no value for anything. Look at what is going on in other countries, for example the USA. Cannabis has been used medicinally for 1000s of years. All the laws banning cannabis, which date only from the 20th century, are entirely politically motivated.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Trappedmoth]

Your points are perhaps valid in decriminalisation or legalisation but not prescribing. Research is international and not constrained by any UK government. And that research needs to be better.

But prescribing it and knowing the dose, the effects, making it repeatable and consistent and knowing about contraindications all need to be understood better.

[Trappedmoth in reply to desquinn]

Because we have all that information for the already prescribed opiates, epilepsy drugs and other nonsensical stuff we consume? Give me a break! At the rate we are going now medical cannabis will continue to be available only to people who can afford to pay at least £400 a month for it.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Trappedmoth]

We have a lot more information about those drugs that have went through RCTs etc than cannabis. Just take dosage, the whole point of trials are:

# what dose will have a positive effect

# What frequency

# is it tolerated

# is it safe in a wider population group

If the does or application changes then they do another controlled trial.

to my knowledge it is less than £400 per month at present and they are aiming to bring it down more and have done a lot to get it down from where it was at..

I am in favour of this being more accessible and if it is individual choice that is one ethical situation to get by but if it is to be prescribed then that is a different ethical hurdle.

I may not like the current situation but at least the conversations are now happening in a more mature way than the emotional baggage and stigma that used to be part of it.

ps one theory on why opioids do not work is that our innate opioid system is overloaded and receptors blocked off and it gets to a point that opioids are no longer effective. There is a similar chain of thought with the ECS system.

[Trappedmoth in reply to desquinn]

Another theory is that opiates do not work on the receptors related to chronic pain. But cannabis does work for the endocannabinoid system receptors relevant to chronic pain. The receptors are activated by different substances.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Trappedmoth]

there has been research that suggests our opioid receptors are blocked hence why LDN works by clearing them as it is antagonist.

[rchyt in reply to desquinn]

There are hundreds of medical dispensary's in the US and they give good advice on each strain they sell. You just need a medical card to access in the first place and it should definitely be the same here, it helps me, its the only thing that always helps.

[Tjba]

Thanks for all the comments. Appreciate there are lots of different views but I’m personally going to give it a try. I’ve signed up for the Project Twenty21 subsidised programme and will see how it goes. Tracy