Mum to help educate Scottish doctors on ‘life-changing’ medical cannabis

Scottish mother and medical cannabis campaigner, Lisa Quarrell, will share her insights into the ‘life-changing’ treatment with clinicians later this month.

The East Kilbride campaigner will join expert medical cannabis clinicians in Edinburgh on 13 September, at an educational event hosted by the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS).

Clinicians and patients from across Scotland are invited to attend ‘Medical Cannabis: Everything You Need to Know – a practical introduction to medical cannabis and CBD‘, which aims to raise awareness and improve understanding of cannabis medicines among the medical profession.

Lisa Quarrell, mum of Cole Thompson who lives with severe epilepsy, has been campaigning for NHS access to medical cannabis for a number of years, after seeing the effect it had on her son. 

Cole has had a private prescription for Bedrolite oil since 2019, but Lisa struggles to cover the monthly fee of £1,300.

Cole before and after medical cannabis.

The former police officer disclosed the same year that she had brought cannabis oil into the UK from the Netherlands, illegally to help son, who was having several seizures a day at the time.

Next week she will speak to doctors and patients about the ‘life-changing’ impact that the treatment has had on Cole.

Lisa will be joined by Dr Liz Iveson, neuro rehabilitation and internal medicine consultant, and one of the first prescribers of the treatment in the UK, Dr Anna Ross, drug policy stakeholder expert and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and Katya Kowalski, head of operations at Volteface. 

Professor Mike Barnes, chair of the MCCS will host the event. 

He commented: “The event is a fantastic opportunity for clinicians, medical students and patients to learn the facts about this treatment and practical steps to prescribing and accessing a legal prescription.”

The event is open to clinicians, medical students, scientists, researchers, professionals and patients curious about medical cannabis and the current state of prescribing, evidence and availability in the UK.

There will be opportunities for networking and a panel Q&A for attendees following the speakers. 

Hannah Deacon, vice-chair of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, said: “The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society believes that everyone who could benefit from medical cannabis should have access to it. Our mission is to give clinicians access to evidence, training, expert guidance, peer support and licensed product information so they can prescribe life-changing medical cannabis treatments to all patients in the UK, on the NHS.” 

The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society is made up of over 300 clinicians, including specialist consultants in a wide range of specialisms, GPs, nurses and allied health professionals. 

The society works together to increase access to medical cannabis in the UK, with members sharing best practice, learning from each other, and providing regular expert support to their peers. 

The event is taking place from 6.30pm at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh City Centre. It is £10 to attend with discounted rates for medical students. Register here 

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