Opinion piece: "Cannabis law reforms would let chronically ill people like me live in less pain and more dignity" by an ME patient

Andy

Andy

Retired committee member
Alfie Dingley is a six-year-old who suffers with a rare form of epilepsy.

Alfie’s mother has to sit and watch up to 30 seizures a day, so it’s no wonder that Alfie has been in the media with his mother calling on the Home Office to grant a licence for cannabis-based medications which have reportedly been enormously beneficial.

I’ve always been very reluctant to talk about my own story, but seeing the visceral anguish of Alfie’s mother is something that hits close to home.

I was eight years old when I became essentially bedbound with ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Despite having 30 years to get used to my own illness, I’ve never found the words to comfortably talk about it.

Alfie’s story is one of familiarity: a desperate search to find something to alleviate suffering. When you do find something that works, you grab it like the literal lifeline it is.

I was 26 when I first tried cannabis. Having had a legacy of prescription drugs that gave me a myriad of interesting side effects, such as going blind for a week and having paralysis of the hands and feet for two years, these were but some of the trials that my parents had to navigate.

It was clear to us all that it wasn’t a good idea for me to experiment with drugs. My own parents and loved ones are absolute heroes for their levels of support and problem solving.
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https://inews.co.uk/opinion/cannabi...cally-ill-people-like-live-less-pain-dignity/
 
Sly Saint said:
Another example of the media not doing their homework(?)
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Or the government not doing its homework.
It seems that the form of cannabis the people whose children have severe epilepsy are using is not allowed here. I don't know in what way it differs from the CBD oil that is allowed. Maybe it's extracted from cannabis rather than hemp and still has some of the psychoactive component???
 
Trish said:
Or the government not doing its homework.
It seems that the form of cannabis the people whose children have severe epilepsy are using is not allowed here. I don't know in what way it differs from the CBD oil that is allowed. Maybe it's extracted from cannabis rather than hemp and still has some of the psychoactive component???
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I think that is correct.
 
Trish said:
Or the government not doing its homework.
It seems that the form of cannabis the people whose children have severe epilepsy are using is not allowed here. I don't know in what way it differs from the CBD oil that is allowed. Maybe it's extracted from cannabis rather than hemp and still has some of the psychoactive component???
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"When trying to wrap your head around the differences between hemp and cannabis, it is important to begin with this simple concept: Both hemp and cannabis ultimately come from the same plant… "

"According to a 1976 study published by the International Association of Plant Taxonomy concluded “both hemp varieties and marijuana varieties are of the same genus, Cannabis, and the same species, Cannabis Sativa. Further, there are countless varieties that fall into further classifications within the species Cannabis Sativa.”

"However, depending on how the plant is grown and utilized will determine which term is correct. For instance, the term cannabis (or marijuana) is used when describing a Cannabis Sativa plant that is bred for its potent, resinous glands (known as trichomes). These trichomes contain high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid most known for its psychoactive properties."

"There is a big difference between hemp seed oil and hemp/CBD extract. Hemp/CBD extract is the main ingredient in popular products like Charlotte’s Web and other CBD-specific brands. Products containing hemp/CBD extract do have a wide range of cannabinoids, just limited to no THC.

Hemp, on the other hand, is used to describe a Cannabis Sativa plant that contains only trace amounts of THC. Hemp is a high-growing plant, typically bred for industrial uses such as oils and topical ointments, as well as fiber for clothing, construction, and much more."
 
adambeyoncelowe said:
As I understand it, the best results come from oils with both high levels of CBD and THC. You need above the legal amounts of THC to activate the most potent effects.

So the stuff these people are using is overseas stuff that's much more potent.
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I thought that the amounts of THC contained in modern stuff were excessive, and responsible for addiction, etc?
 
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MeSci said:
There's some interesting info here:

https://www.leafscience.com/2017/11/22/thc-cbd-difference/
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Sure, THC is addictive, but current legal CBD blends are like 0.2% or something. There's some evidence that it needs to be at least 5% to get the best benefits, because the THC increases the positive effects of CBD (especially for pain).

A doctor talks about it here: https://www.quora.com/Does-CBD-oil-need-THC-in-it-to-work-on-pain. He suggests a 20:1 ratio of CBD:THC as ideal.

I believe it's called the 'entourage effect' (nothing to do with Mark Wahlberg, thankfully).
 
adambeyoncelowe said:
As I understand it, the best results come from oils with both high levels of CBD and THC. You need above the legal amounts of THC to activate the most potent effects.

So the stuff these people are using is overseas stuff that's much more potent.
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I recently bought some of the Holland and Barrett 5% stuff (it was half price) out of pure interest. I can't say that I've noticed a difference but I wasn't necessarily expecting to find one.

There are sites (outside the UK) that sell (what looks like) stronger stuff (without THC) so I still have an open mind on this.

I've seen enough closed mindedness in the medical profession to teach me to maintain an open mind.
 
Article in 'London Free Press', never heard of it but anyway this article made me laugh.......I think the author might have had a toke or two before writing it:

"
The truth about cannabis and chronic fatigue syndrome

Google cannabis and chronic fatigue syndrome and you’ll get lots of speculation and questionable info, but pretty much no scientific research whatsoever. That’s because chronic fatigue—sometimes known as CFT/ME (the “ME” stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis, which might be a more medical-sounding synonym for CFT or might be its own ailment)—arouses nearly as much controversy in the medical world as cannabis does.

A disease seemingly with no cause but a laundry list of symptoms that includes fatigue (duh), loss of memory or concentration, swollen lymph nodes, and sore throat, muscles, and joints, CFT entered the popular consciousness in the 1980s, when it was nicknamed “the yuppie flu.” That gives you an idea of how not seriously it was taken by everybody—except those who languished from it.

This skepticism has tapered (slightly) over the decades. However, last year in a densely-sourced report, the Institute of Medicine finally weighted in, giving its imprimatur to CFM/ME—to which it proposes yet another name-change: “systemic exertion intolerance disease,” or SEID.

The official line is now that the disease formerly known as chronic fatigue is indeed a bona fide disorder; we just don’t know what causes it.
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full article (short) here:
https://lfpress.com/cannabis-health...rome/wcm/d9a82ec8-8089-42c6-bb9d-97eed2382e3b
 
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