Student campaign aims to “End the Stigma” around medical cannabis this Freshers Week

Research and policy charity, Drug Science has partnered with student ambassadors to end the stigma of medical cannabis and improve access.

Across the UK, students starting or returning to university this year will have their first ‘in person’ Freshers Week this September. It can be an exciting time but also one that raises questions about coping with different conditions or pain and affording medications while on student budgets. 

Many patients remain unaware that cannabis is available as a legal treatment option. Only a handful of prescriptions have been issued on the NHS despite legalisation three years ago. This has forced a lot of patients to seek expensive cannabis treatment through the private healthcare system. 

Project Twenty21 aims to improve access to medical cannabis for patients in the UK by working with licensed cannabis producers and capping the cost of monthly private prescriptions. Patients enrolled in Twenty21 help Drug Science to collect data on the effectiveness of these medical cannabis products. 

Drug Science aims to educate young people about the truths around this drug, highlighting the major differences between illegal street cannabis and legal medical cannabis in the UK.

Student campaign

As part of the campaign, some clinics have agreed to offer UK students with a valid student ID, a £20 discount on their initial consultation. Participating clinics can be found via the project’s Clinic Directory.

Medical cannabis patient Tim is about to start university in September to study Sociology. He credits medical cannabis in helping him get motivated to start. He uses medical cannabis to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), anxiety, depression and Autism.

Speaking with Cannabis Health News, Tim explains how medical cannabis changed his life.

“About a year ago I was housebound with social phobia. I hadn’t left the house in a number of years. A few months after I got my prescription, I started leaving the house again and now I’m starting university so it’s completely changed my entire world.”

“Life was non-existent before medical cannabis. I would have my food delivered and I would be sat inside, scared of my own shadow. I was housebound for about two or three years. I would mainly watch TV and I was unable to take care of my daughter.”

Tim feels that the stigma of cannabis is a widespread issue however he feels supported within the student community.

“It’s a stigma amongst everybody, even within the actual cannabis community. There is still a stigma, especially in this country. I don’t know if it’s stigma more than lack of education.”

“I live in Liverpool and everyone is quite supportive here. Everyone I have spoken to has either been interested or wants to know more or they are at their wit’s end. Sometimes they know someone who is at their wits ends with the NHS and the lack of support. They want to see if it can possibly help.”

Financial difficulties

Budgeting and financial issues are part of student life however this becomes a lot more difficult when you are having to factor medication into the mix. Tim explains that Twenty21 has been incredibly helpful in making sure he can afford to stay on track.

“Without Twenty21, I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I struggle with disability so money is limited. I have a set amount of money that I can spend on my medication every single month because. There are only a certain amount of products and prescriptions can change regularly.`’

Student attitudes to cannabis

The campaign will help to raise awareness amongst students about the benefits along with the differences between street and legal cannabis.

A survey on ‘Student Drug Behaviour and Mental Health during COVID-19’ by the SSDP UK and Drug Science Student Society) asked students why they might use drugs illegally.

The survey revealed that 46 percent of students said it helps them to relieve depressive symptoms and a number said it helped them to deal with anxiety.

A YouGov poll from 2020 found that two-thirds of people aged 18 to 24 would support full legalisation of Cannabis in the UK and more than half of the population as a whole. 

Gen-Z who make a large percentage of university students are considerably open to drug policy reform. In another YouGov survey, 36 percent said they felt regular use of cannabis was not very harmful. 

Mags Houston, Head of Project Twenty21 said: “We’re not even three years into the legalisation of medical cannabis, so it’s unsurprising that the vast majority of cannabis use for medicinal purposes is still via the illicit market. We need people to know that cannabis is now a legal medicine in the UK, that the beneficial evidence is growing and we’re trying to make medical cannabis more affordable for those who need it most.”

“Students and young people can play a key role in helping us get the word out there by talking to friends and family, putting posters up around their university campuses and ensuring that any healthcare student peers, in particular, are aware of the latest research.”

If you would like to take part, you can fill out this form to order printed materials (before or after Freshers Week) or print your own posters and leaflets via this Google Drive link which includes sharable social media assets. 

Read more: ‘Her life was transformed: New article shares the benefits of medical cannabis