“I’ll never stop campaigning for it to be free at the point of use” – councillor on medical cannabis and MS

SNP councillor, Laura Brennan-Whitefield, recently spoke about being prescribed medical cannabis for her MS. She tells us why she continues to fight for NHS access. 

Laura Brennan-Whitefield, a Scottish National Party councillor for the Ayr North ward in south west Scotland, says she was very ‘lucky’ when it came to being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 23. 

Laura was studying for a postgraduate degree in drug and alcohol studies when the first symptoms came on.

“I had this really strange sensation in my legs which travelled up to my knee, it was a bit like pins and needles,” says Laura, now 37.

“I panicked and went to A&E where they told me it was a virus, but I felt there was something more seriously wrong. The next day I went to see a GP, who is now a hero of mine. He believed me and got me through rapid tests.”

Sometimes patients can go for years before getting a correct diagnosis, but Laura was diagnosed with relapsing and remitting MS within just six weeks.

Throughout the next decade she tried a number of pharmaceutical drugs and was given several rounds of a disease modifying therapy drug, alemtuzumab, which successfully put the disease into remission. 

Medical cannabis and quality of life

But earlier this year, Laura spoke publicly about how a prescription for medical cannabis is helping her manage the day-to-day symptoms of the condition. 

“When you have MS, the hardest bit is the neuropathic pain,” she says.

“It’s a burning sensation, which I often say is like a steam kettle burn. It feels like your legs are on fire and nothing I was taking was really addressing the issue, or the leg spasms, even the medication that I was on.”

After first being prescribed cannabis oil through a private clinic, Laura moved onto cannabis flower to address the tingling and tightness in her limbs.

“It was a difficult decision because I did have concerns about making my health worse by smoking,” she admits. 

“But then I looked into dry herb vaporisers and realised that it wasn’t the same as burning the product, so there was some reduction in the adverse effects.”

Laura continues: “I started vaping the flower and it has been remarkable. There are times when my foot will lock in a kind of claw and it’s incredibly painful. There was nothing much I could really do about it. But medical cannabis just releases the cramp. People have actually seen it happen and have been taken aback.”

Laura is now prescribed three different strains of cannabis, one to help her sleep, one which makes her more alert while also helping manage the pain and another for when her symptoms are severe. 

“I don’t vape everyday, just when I feel the pain coming on, but my quality of life has vastly improved. Both the oils and the flower have the effect of improving my sleep quality, which makes things a lot easier,” she says.

“It hasn’t stopped all the symptoms. One thing cannabis hasn’t helped me with is the fatigue that comes with MS. Unfortunately I still get the overwhelming exhaustion but I’m just thankful everyday that I’m still walking, driving and working.”

Calls for NHS access

Laura has been a vocal advocate for medical cannabis for a number of years. She first spoke publicly about it at the 2016 SNP conference, her first foray into politics, when the party brought forward a resolution to legalise it for medical use.

But while medical cannabis has now been legal for almost four years, access hasn’t gone far enough in Laura’s view.

“As an activist I genuinely feel that in a world where it’s easier to get palliative care than it is to get cannabis, there’s something not quite right,” she says.

“I’ll never stop campaigning for it to be free from the point of use because that’s the only way it’s fair. If it’s not, you’re not really talking about the needs of the patient, you’re talking about their ability to pay.”

She continues: “People should be able to access this through the NHS in a safe and controlled way, so that they know what they’re getting, there is quality of supply, consistency and patients are not having to go and get it off a dealer. 

“That type of thing can be done if the will is there. However, the Misuse of Drugs Act makes it very difficult. As a piece of legislation it’s not fit for purpose and I feel that is holding things back.”

We also have a lot of work to do in terms of tackling the stigma around cannabis, she adds.

“I think destigmatising it is really important, because people just have so many preconceived ideas that are based on flawed science and myths,” says Laura.

“We need to persuade much higher politicians than myself that we’re talking about a medicine –  a natural medicine – that has very few negative interactions and that you can’t overdose on. But we’re fighting against an ideological, anti-drugs propaganda, where cannabis is seen as an illegal narcotic that leads to people ruining their lives.”

A plea to the Home Office

This is one of the reasons that Laura chose to share her story with the press, to show the reality of those who are using cannabis medicinally. 

“I didn’t want to be the centre of attention, what I was trying to say was that, actually, there’s a lot of people just like me. I’m not alone in seeing positive change in my life with medical cannabis,” she continues.

“I didn’t want to live in the shadows anymore. It’s really important that the people leading this are people with lived experience of using it.”

She went on to make a personal plea to the UK Home Office to look at the issues around medical cannabis access.

“I’m frustrated that access seems to be regressing. I thought when the law changed that that would open the door, but we need to relook at this, we need to force change,” she adds. 

“For me until people can access it for free at the point of use, then it’s not a fair system.”

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