Welsh Assembly Members have voted to lobby the UK Government to legalise cannabis for medicinal use

Patients who depend on cannabis to ease their pain have spoken out after Wales’ AMs voted to lobby the UK Government to legalise the drug for medicinal use.

The chronically-ill sufferers say the drug eases their pain and the current drugs law turns them into criminals.

Assembly Members on Wednesday heard their pleas and backed a motion by a cross-party group to lobby the UK Government to change the law.

They say the clinical and anecdotal evidence on its benefits for patients is “compelling” and want the NHS in Wales to be able to make it available via a prescription.

But at present Wales does not have the legislative powers to make such a decision.

MS sufferer Sue Cox

Grandmother Sue Cox, from Cwmbran, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in January 2014 after experiencing problems with her balance for more than six years.

The former manager of Holland and Barrett now uses a cane to help her walk and suffers with chronic spasms in her back and legs.

Despite taking a range of prescribed medicines, including morphine in the recent past, the 65-year-old said cannabis has benefited her the most.

Sue, who prefers to smoke her cannabis and occasionally enjoys it “sprinkled on her cheese on toast”, said: “Cannabis helps to relax me, which in turn relaxes my muscles and cuts down the amount of spasms I have each day.

“I feel better within myself when I take it. Does cannabis help cheer me up? Of course it does.”

Sue said her multiple sclerosis is progressive, leaves her often excruciating pain and stops her sleeping properly.

She has had to reduce the amount of gardening she does due to her condition – and even struggles to hug members of her own family because of her spasms.

“I have to wake up every day and fight the depression, because I know I have something that will never get any better,” she added.

“Some days I am incredibly tired and even the simplest of tasks are difficult. I am faced with having to deal with new symptoms all the time which I know won’t go away.”

She believes simply having an Assembly debate will put pressure on the UK Government to change the status of cannabis so people who truly need it can access it.

“I do feel like a criminal tying to get cannabis, but I soon get over it when I remember what life is like without it,” she added.

“I don’t want to go out of my way to break the law. I want cannabis to be given to me on prescription and be among all the other drugs I’m currently taking.”

Breast cancer patient Dawn Wilson

Dawn Wilson, a mum of two young children, was diagnosed with an incurable form of breast cancer 12 months ago.

In 2014, the former teacher found a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer which spread to her lymph nodes.

She was given the all clear in 2015 after undergoing treatment, but the disease returned with a vengeance two years later.

While the 35-year-old has never used cannabis herself, she believes making it available for medicinal purposes would help ease the pain of her condition – and give her the strength to continue her chemotherapy.

“The best way cancer patients can use cannabis is in an oil version,” she said.

“But you would need large quantities of the drug for it to be effective, which would land you in prison for a very long time – so it’s not worth the risk.”

Her rare, triple negative form of breast cancer – which was diagnosed in February 2017 – means that tumours grow at three times their normal rate.

The family faced further heartbreak when Dawn’s ex-husband Iain was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease – a brain disorder that effects behaviour and judgement.

“He also has an ailment which would be improved by cannabis as it would reduce his tremors,” she added.

“My children face being orphaned, and both of our conditions are hereditary so at best they can be tested for our conditions; at worst they will need treatment. It’s heartbreaking.”

The Hengoed resident said the Assembly debate is a step in the right direction, but she said attitudes towards their campaign need to change.

“You cannot keep ignoring the facts. Major players have acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis, so that conversation is already dead in the water,” she added.

“There still seems to be a lot of ignorance. People tell us that cannabis causes depression and anxiety, which I totally agree with, but we are not on about legalising this for recreational purposes.

“It’s infuriating that cannabis is readily available for patients in other countries but not here.

“But we would never have had this debate two years ago, so hopefully people are now taking this decision seriously.”

 

On Wednesday 17th January 2018, AMs tabled a motion to exert pressure on the UK Government to reschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would recognise the medicinal value of the drug.

In response, Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said advocating the use of herbal cannabis – a “raw and illegal” drug – would undermine the evidence-based approach to approving medicines.

However the motion was successful in being passed, with 31 voting in favour, 18 abstaining and two voting against.

Patients with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dystonia and cancer have championed the use of cannabis but say they live in fear of being prosecuted for trying to access cannabis illegally.

Leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood AM , one of the AMs to table the motion, said: “Previously the Welsh Government said that ‘whilst the legal classification and licensing of medicines are not a devolved matter, where agents are licensed for medicinal use and there is clinical evidence of their effectiveness we will take positive action’.

“The clinical and anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of cannabis for medicinal use is compelling.

“People living who use cannabis to alleviate the symptoms associated with their conditions cannot wait until Wales has the legislative competence to legalise cannabis for medicinal use.

“We need the Welsh Government to take positive action and ask the UK Government to reschedule cannabis and in preparation for this, the NHS in Wales should develop a system whereby cannabis could be made available via a prescription to all those who could benefit.”

There are a growing number of countries which regulate the medical use of cannabis and cannabis derivatives, including Canada, the Netherlands and Israel.

And more than 20 States in the United States regulate herbal cannabis for medical use.

In September 2016, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Drug Policy Reform called on the UK Government to legalise medical cannabis based on the results of their seven-month inquiry into the issue and on the findings of an independent review of global evidence commissioned by them that ran alongside the inquiry.

The report heard that people were suffering “unnecessarily” and were travelling abroad to find the cannabis they need to ease their symptoms.

It concluded that all this could change by moving cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2.

In October last year, Newport West MP Paul Flynn presented a 10-minute rule bill in Westminster on the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.

The bill was put through unopposed to the next reading on February 23.

In 2014, the oral spray Sativex was made available in Wales following approval from the All Wales Medical Strategy Group (AWMSG).

It meant Wales became the first country in the UK to offer a cannabis-based drug for sufferers of the progressive condition.

But it is only in the last few months that all health boards in Wales are able to prescribe Sativex to those people living with MS who are deemed eligible.

The motion was tabled by Assembly Members Mark Isherwood (Conservative), Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru), Mike Hedges (Labour) and Rhun Ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru).