Why Are UK Doctors Loathe To Prescribe Medical Cannabis?

Good morning ATS.

My daughter was diagnosed in August this year with stage 3 low-grade ovarian cancer. It is inside and outside her uterus, surrounding both ovaries, and also attached to/very close to part of the bowel. The plan is chemotherapy to shrink the tumour away from the bowel to save it, and if successful then surgery for a full hysterectomy and not have to remove the bowel. If it doesn't shrink away from the bowel then it will have to be removed too.

So far she has had 3 chemos over 9 weeks and is extremely sick after treatments: nausea, vomiting, no appetite, no energy etc., but since she has been taking 50/50 CBD/THC FECO (Full Extract Cannabis Oil) she can eat, sleep, and it helps tremendously with the nausea and vomiting. The only problem we had was that high-THC cannabis oil was still illegal in August in UK which meant we had problems sourcing it here, and ended up having to buy it from 'somebody who knows somebody'-type suppliers. We had no choice, she was and still is very sick.

Then our govt has since legalised cannabis for medical use, but only for few specific medical conditions. Relieving the symptoms of chemotherapy after all other medications have failed to help, is one of the 'special' conditions to legally access medical cannabis on presciption, and only a specialist/consultant doctor can prescribe it. GPs cannot prescribe it.

So yesterday we consulted with her chemo team at the hospital and told them of how much the cbd/thc oil helps with chemo symptoms compared to the anti-sickness meds that don't work at all, and we asked if she could get it prescribed now that it's legal for this purpose. The answer was 'no'. They added that although it is now legal and that they are aware of many of their patients are also taking it for the same reasons, they won't prescribe it and have no plans to either.

One of the nurses pulled me to one side afterwards and whispered that she and others are very disappointed that consultant doctors are obstructing access to a medication that cancer patients are saying works for them. She said most of the medical teams are of the same opinion as she is.

Why are UK consultants/specialist doctors loathe to prescribe this medicine? Is it because they don't know enough about it? Do they seriously believe it has no medical benefits? Are they not being provided with new information on the benefits of this medicine now that it's legal? If not, why not? And is this the reason they don't want to prescribe it?

Until they get their act together, desperately ill people are having to source their meds from illegal suppliers and be criminals.

a reply to: doobydoll

Because our government is behind the curve when it comes to cannabis and its medical properties , it's a crazy situation.
You can buy CBD oil at holland and barrett but I'm unsure if it's of a strength you need , perhaps you could ask at a pharmacist for advice.

I wish you and your daughter well doobydoll and hope you find a resolution to the situation soon , keep banging on the doors until you get what you need.

a reply to: doobydoll

They won't give medical cannabis to my wife either. She's half my size and takes enough opioid pain relief every day to kill me outright, and suffers from many of the issues associated with prolonged high dose opioid use. Usually, her pain relief is reserved for end of life patients.

I have access to some of the best cannabis oil available in the UK, but it's £40 per ml and we just can't afford that, so my wife has to continue suffering, sadly.

Rev

a reply to: doobydoll

So sorry to hear about your daughter ... I used mebendazole and cimetidine tablets to cure myself of cancer ( tumours in my lungs ) please check the links under my avatar to read how much I took and how they work .. good luck hope your daughter recovers / gets better xx

If I or anyone I know had cancer the last thing on my list of things to worry about would be having a criminal record for buying and manufacturing my own cannabis oil. To hell with the Law.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
If I or anyone I know had cancer the last thing on my list of things to worry about would be having a criminal record for buying and manufacturing my own cannabis oil. To hell with the Law.

Sadly, it's really expensive to make RSO. It takes a lot of "bud" just to get a small amount of the extract. This is why oils and concentrates are so expensive. And I concur, to hell with the law! Though I would say that as I've been a cannabis user for 30 years.

Rev

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: doobydoll

Because our government is behind the curve when it comes to cannabis and its medical properties , it's a crazy situation.
You can buy CBD oil at holland and barrett but I'm unsure if it's of a strength you need , perhaps you could ask at a pharmacist for advice.

I wish you and your daughter well doobydoll and hope you find a resolution to the situation soon , keep banging on the doors until you get what you need.

Thank you gortex. We'll just carry on buying it from illegal suppliers because it's the only way we can get it. My daughter meets the criteria for this medicine but is refused it for no good reason. In fact we weren't even given a reason why. Just a 'no'.

The stores with CBD oils for sale tell me they aren't allowed to stock or sell it with a high-THC content, it's illegal. They can only legally sell CBD with a tiny % THC content, way too low for my daughter's needs.

Thank you for your well wishes.

Doctors in general (not all) are bought, paid for and supplied by Big Pharma then sanctioned by the government to legally deal drugs. In many cases they receive bonuses to push certain drugs and instructed to not prescribe others. Cannabis is despised by the top echelons of the pharmaceutical industry who throw money at keeping it black listed. Pharma is a organized corporate crime syndicate, they body people to get their way and maintain discretion.

originally posted by: revmoofoo
a reply to: doobydoll

They won't give medical cannabis to my wife either. She's half my size and takes enough opioid pain relief every day to kill me outright, and suffers from many of the issues associated with prolonged high dose opioid use. Usually, her pain relief is reserved for end of life patients.

I have access to some of the best cannabis oil available in the UK, but it's £40 per ml and we just can't afford that, so my wife has to continue suffering, sadly.

Rev

Yes it is very expensive to buy.

If we could legally grow our own medical plant we could make our own meds and it would be more affordable. But we can't so we have to keep paying thru the nose for it or go without, because doctors won't prescribe it.


What good is legalising this medicine if doctors refuse to prescribe it?


Best wishes to you and your wife, I do hope and pray she recovers. It's a terrible disease.

Longtime cannabis law reform campaigner here, I'm truly sorry to hear about your daughters situation, and I wish her a speedy recovery.

Here in Jersey, Channel Islands, we've made huge progress in a very (relatively) short space of time. It's still a few months away, and prescribing guidelines have yet to be drawn up and published, but depending on the outcome, we're only a short flight away,

All Jersey medical professionals to be allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis

...His proposition, which was approved by the States on Tuesday, means that Health Minister Richard Renouf will be required to bring forward legislation allowing all medical professionals to be able to prescribe cannabis, as well as other cannabis-based medicines.

Those proposals will come into force before Thursday 28 February next year.

[url=https://jerseyeveningpost.com/breakingnews/2018/11/06/all-jersey-medical-professionals-to-be-allowed-to-prescribe-medicinal-cannabis/]Source[/url ]

Before the proposal was passed by the Chamber, guidelines stated that only 'specialists' at the general hospital would have been able to supply, and the ink on that old guideline was still wet on the paper it was written on.

Good luck, and my sincerest best wishes,

originally posted by: nofear39
a reply to: doobydoll

So sorry to hear about your daughter ... I used mebendazole and cimetidine tablets to cure myself of cancer ( tumours in my lungs ) please check the links under my avatar to read how much I took and how they work .. good luck hope your daughter recovers / gets better xx

Thank you very much I'll take a look later.

We'll try anything.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
If I or anyone I know had cancer the last thing on my list of things to worry about would be having a criminal record for buying and manufacturing my own cannabis oil. To hell with the Law.

Unfortunately I already have a criminal record for possession class B, convicted on more than one occasion. Even a custodial sentence.

Straight to jail for me if I'm caught again with a 'controlled' substance. I'd be of no support nor help to my daughter if I'm in jail. I have to be careful.

If I had a clean record I'd grow my own and make the oil myself lol.

originally posted by: MerkabaTribeEntity
Longtime cannabis law reform campaigner here, I'm truly sorry to hear about your daughters situation, and I wish her a speedy recovery.

Here in Jersey, Channel Islands, we've made huge progress in a very (relatively) short space of time. It's still a few months away, and prescribing guidelines have yet to be drawn up and published, but depending on the outcome, we're only a short flight away,

All Jersey medical professionals to be allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis

...His proposition, which was approved by the States on Tuesday, means that Health Minister Richard Renouf will be required to bring forward legislation allowing all medical professionals to be able to prescribe cannabis, as well as other cannabis-based medicines.

Those proposals will come into force before Thursday 28 February next year.

[url=https://jerseyeveningpost.com/breakingnews/2018/11/06/all-jersey-medical-professionals-to-be-allowed-to-prescribe-medicinal-cannabis/]Source[/url ]

Before the proposal was passed by the Chamber, guidelines stated that only 'specialists' at the general hospital would have been able to supply, and the ink on that old guideline was still wet on the paper it was written on.

Good luck, and my sincerest best wishes,

That's fantastic. I hope our govt emerges from it's cave soon too. But it doesn't seem to be interested in anything except money.

Thank you for your best wishes.

a reply to: doobydoll

I know nothing about cannabis but I do know that Vitamin C is said to help cancer patients.

My Mom's cancer Dr. told her to take at minimum 2000mg Vita C every day. He stated that cancer feeds on sugar and the vitamin c prevents the cancer from consuming the sugar and growing. It basically starves it to death.

She is 1.5 years with her cancer in remission and continues to take vitamin c every day.

Of note, during her treatments, the cancer did not show any significant decrease in size until AFTER she started taking the vitamin c faithfully. After about 4 weeks of treatment with the vitamin c regimen her tumor had shrunk by 1/2.

At the start of her diagnosis, the Dr. had stated that her type and location of cancer is difficult to treat and nearly impossible to 'cure' (as in put in remission) and that the treatments would serve to possibly shrink the tumor, help to prevent it from growing / spreading and extend her life no more than 2-5 years max.

If your daughter is also having sugar cravings (my mom did) she can alleviate these by eating coconut oil (also recommended by her cancer dr). My mom had horrendous sugar cravings and hated the coconut oil, but i was able to get at minimum 1/4 teaspoon into her diet at least once a day which did help to decrease them.

We talked about her becoming a stoner LOL but never had to pursue that path. I wish you and your daughter luck, love & healing. Stay strong and stay POSITIVE.

a reply to: doobydoll

I'm with you on this mate. I makes no sense to me that something can be legal, but can't be obtained for love nor money. If you had the seed money, you could start a grow very cheaply, however you'd need so many plants to keep a constant supply of oil going that you'd probably need an entire room dedicated to the grow.

Another thing that annoys me is that medical cannabis has improved my life 100% and not one medical professional gives a damn. Add that to the fact that the UK is one of the largest suppliers of medicinal cannabis (even though until recently, they claim that cannabis had zero medicinal benefit) and I can understand why so many people are so angry with the UK Government.

I'll keep your daughter in my prayers.

Rev

a reply to: doobydoll

Pretty crazy for sure,my friend who is a grower for dispensary's buy's his seeds from the UK,guess the queen owns no stock in marijuana industry....yet!

originally posted by: RainbowPhoenix
Doctors in general (not all) are bought, paid for and supplied by Big Pharma then sanctioned by the government to legally deal drugs. In many cases they receive bonuses to push certain drugs and instructed to not prescribe others. Cannabis is despised by the top echelons of the pharmaceutical industry who throw money at keeping it black listed. Pharma is a organized corporate crime syndicate, they body people to get their way and maintain discretion.

It’s this, exactly. We’re having a similar battle right now in the U.S. about kratom, which doesn’t make pharma any money. There’s also a big push by the liquor lobby to ban kratom since it helps (rather miraculously) with alcohol addiction. Shocking, huh.

This just shows how much power lobbyists and major corporations have within our governments. Most people know this, and it’s sort of a fact of life, but it can have extremely detrimental effects on the population in times like this. It’s stuff like this that makes people overthrow governments - most think it’s severe things like martial law, enacting a police state, etc. when in reality it’s this kind of interference in people’s daily lives that eventually set them off. These bought and paid for politicians should watch out.

originally posted by: revmoofoo
a reply to: doobydoll

I'm with you on this mate. I makes no sense to me that something can be legal, but can't be obtained for love nor money. If you had the seed money, you could start a grow very cheaply, however you'd need so many plants to keep a constant supply of oil going that you'd probably need an entire room dedicated to the grow.

Another thing that annoys me is that medical cannabis has improved my life 100% and not one medical professional gives a damn. Add that to the fact that the UK is one of the largest suppliers of medicinal cannabis (even though until recently, they claim that cannabis had zero medicinal benefit) and I can understand why so many people are so angry with the UK Government.

I'll keep your daughter in my prayers.

Rev

I read somewhere that our PM's husband owns a cannabis farm in UK, grows medical cannabis for export to the USA medical industry. Teresa May granted her hubby a special licence to cultivate it in this country.

Anyone else grows it is a criminal and goes to jail. No 'special' licence privilege for us.

Thank you for your prayers, we need them.

Netherlands here and it's the same story. Medi-weed is supposedly legal and available in certain cases (cancer, Multiple, Sclerosis) but in practice it is hard to find a doctor who is prepared to prescribe it. My ex had lung cancer and was refused due to the doctors lack of knowledge about it.

I ended up driving to the coffeeshop for her once a week, it was the only way. Sad and frustrating.

a reply to: Oldtimer2

Pretty crazy for sure,my friend who is a grower for dispensary's buy's his seeds from the UK,guess the queen owns no stock in marijuana industry....yet!

That's another part of the crazy situation , we're allowed to buy seeds as souvenirs but not allowed to germinate them.

Strange "Attitude"