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Medical cannabis in the mainstream – the week’s top headlines
All your medical cannabis news in one place.
It’s been another busy week for cannabis in the mainstream media. In case you missed it, we’ve compiled some of the week’s top headlines.
Cannabis is increasingly making its way into the UK’s mainstream media. This week, media outlets including the BBC, Daily Mirror and the Daily Express have featured articles about medical cannabis and those patients who are benefiting from it.
From stories of MS sufferers risking jail to grow their own medicine, to news that a government fund has now bought a stake in a cannabis company, here are the top cannabis headlines from the past week that shouldn’t be missed.
Patients speak out about risking jail to grow their own medicine
Following Amy Childs’ announcement that she would be lobbying for wider medical cannabis access on the NHS, several medical cannabis users spoke out in an article for The Mirror about risking jail to grow their own plants.
With access through the NHS still limited to just a few people and private prescriptions costing as much as £2,000 a month, many have turned to growing their own supply of cannabis to treat conditions like chronic pain and epilepsy.
Four people who have resorted to growing their own spoke to The Mirror earlier this week, including long-term MS sufferer Lesley Gibson, 82-year-old Philip Antony Bevington who lives with kidney disease and John Browne who turned to cannabis after traditional medication failed to help ease his chronic pain.
“I’m well aware of the risk of coming out about my illegal activity. But I’m speaking out for every vulnerable patient who needs cannabis products, but faces penalties from archaic drug policies,” Browne told The Mirror.
UK government fund invests in cannabis company
The British Business Bank’s Future Fund, a government-run fund set up to provide loans during the pandemic, announced 75 new investments this week which included a CBD producer Grass & Co, as reported by The Guardian.
The CBD company, run by two brothers, Ben and Tom Grass, produce CBD-infused products that are stocked in retailers such as Boots and Selfridges. The UK government fund became part-owner of the company after its emergency start-up loan was converted into equity, along with 335 other companies that benefitted from the loan scheme in the height of the pandemic.
Guernsey moves towards legalisation
This week, the BBC featured Guernsey’s move towards legalising cannabis on the self-governing island. While the UK mainland has lagged behind countries such as the US, Canada and Portugal in its approach to cannabis regulation, the UK Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man has sought to get ahead of the curve. In 2020 two deputy ministers in Guernsey proposed the legalisation of cannabis.
June this year will see politicians vote on working towards legalising cannabis during the current political term which is due to end in 2025.
Deputy Marc Leadbeater, who is the director of a local cannabis cultivation firm in Guernsey, told the BBC that a “dispensary model” such as that seen in Canada would be appropriate for Guernsey, citing Canada’s drop in youth consumption as one of the reasons the model could work for the island.
Cannabis boss on the power of education
Arjun Rajyagor, winner of the Junior Apprentice and founder of cannabis product distributor, Sana Life Sciences, spoke to the Daily Express about the power of education in the push for improved access to medical cannabis.
Rajyagor said: “It’s about educating them on what to prescribe and how to prescribe, how they should be looking at it and how they should be managing that patient journey.”
The young entrepreneur spoke about a new solution being developed by Sana to improve the knowledge base amongst medical professionals. He described the solution as “a platform for doctors, free to use, which enables them to be educated about the governance process around cannabis from a regulatory perspective.”
He added: “It takes them through an entire journey to help them become comfortable with prescribing.”
Rajyagor told the Daily Express that the aim is to help change people’s perspective on medical cannabis by having more GPs prescribing.
Prescribed cannabis seized by police in Norwich
A local newspaper in Norwich reported on the seizing of prescribed cannabis by local police officers. Norwich Evening News reported that Ryan Specter, a patient who is prescribed Adven Flos 17 through Sapphire Medical Clinic had his legally-held cannabis seized by law enforcement officers after Specter highlighted a series of complaints from neighbours.
The 27-year-old said: “I am still dismayed by how forces are handling this and wish to see more change on that front.
“It’s very concerning when there could be patients more frail than myself who may be deprived of their medication.”
A spokesperson from Norfolk Police said officers were unable to verify if the cannabis was legally prescribed as Mr Specter did not provide a Cannabis Card. Mr Specter disputes the comment.
Following an investigation, the police have made arrangements to return the prescription to Mr Specter who is prescribed cannabis flower for ADHD.
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