UK Medical Cannabis

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Cannabis prescriptions became legal in the UK in 2018. This is a place for those seeking advice and to share information, knowledge & news about legal medical cannabis obtained by a prescription as well as the clinics and pharmacies that provide it. This is also a community, where patients can come together and forge friendships with others who share similar experiences.

I've created this community as well as !ukmedicalcannabis as I'm new to the Fediverse, migrating from Reddit and unsure if the proper naming convention for a UK based medical cannabis community should be !ukmedicalcannabis@feddit.uk or !medicalcannabis@feddit.uk

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New to UK. Need advice on medical THC (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by Twofacetony@lemmy.world to c/medicalcannabis

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Hello everyone (???),

I recently moved from Australia to UK, and in that process I had to speak to my doctors back in Australia for my medication to be documented for UK GP’s. The normal stuff like, Valium, codeine and strong anti-inflammatories were pretty easy to switch over, but the THC side is where I’m finding roadblocks and don’t know where to go, or even if I can.

I have been prescribed Spectrum Red THC oil, and thankfully I have enough of it to last another year or so, but there will be a time when I have to jump on the doctor bandwagon to get it refilled. Do GP’s prescribe it in the UK like I would in Australia, or do I have to go down a long path of finding the right doctors practice that will be able to prescribe THC oil?

Thankfully I have a great doctor who will electronically prescribe oil to be filled at a dispensary in Australia, who might be able to mail it to me, but I don’t quite like the prospect of paying £70 and hoping a bottle arrives… and then having to possibly deal with border control for importing something that might be illegal.

Does anyone know of a cannabis doctor in the UK that would prescribe that particular medication, or at least have any personal experience with any insight on how it works here?

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[–] SabreTooth125 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Seems the list of health conditions to get it prescribed is pretty short. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medical-cannabis/

CBD oil is freely available, can't comment on effectiveness though.

[–] Twofacetony@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Thanks for the link. I’ll have a read of it today and see if anything correlates.

I found CBD to not have any strong effect. It was incredibly expensive for a very minor gain. From my perspective, it did have some anti-inflammatory abilities, but a month supply I n Australia was about £200, and I found that if I did some tailored stretches, breathing exercises and dynamic movement, I could alleviate my discomfort enough to get on with my day.

Edit: upon reading that link, I have to say that the UK is miles behind Australia on medical cannabis, as the scope of being prescribed THC is so particular, and seemingly only available through specialist hospitals.

I guess it’s go down the path of returning to Australia to get my supply and bringing it back into the UK on me. At least until the laws open up a little for people with chronic pain.

[–] Emperor 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I guess it’s go down the path of returning to Australia to get my supply and bringing it back into the UK on me.

I'd check the law on that one because I'd imagine it would be pretty much illegal without some serious paperwork (parents of epileptic children had a real fight a while ago) and if you get caught they'd send you back to Oz with a high bar for re-entry.

[–] Twofacetony@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have advice from drug and firearm in the home office that as long as I don’t have more than 3 months worth of medication, I’m free to bring it in to the country. I’m both a citizen of UK and Australia so deporting me will be a tennis match.

It just so happens that the amount that is prescribed to me as a single dose so happens to be 15 times my actual dose, so the 40mL dosage technically should last 35 days, but in reality it lasts 400.

[–] Emperor 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have advice from drug and firearm in the home office that as long as I don’t have more than 3 months worth of medication, I’m free to bring it in to the country. I’m both a citizen of UK and Australia so deporting me will be a tennis match.

That's good to hear - I knew the parents of epileptic children had opened things up but it's definitely a good idea to have got this in writing (and perhaps laminate it and carry it with you in case Customs didn't get the memo).

[–] Twofacetony@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I’m glad they’ve made it more manageable for MS, epilepsy and chemo pain, but there really is a stronger push needed to get this moving. I have never enjoyed marijuana recreationally, and was very dubious of the prescription… but thankfully with THC, I don’t want to eat the end of a shotgun when I’m on the floor doubled over in sciatic pain.

[–] Shepstr 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably easier just to pick up some green on the street?

[–] Emperor 3 points 1 year ago

That seems unwise.

If you know a guy who knows a guy, you can probably get cannabis oil - a friend was getting chemo and radiotherapy, so reached out (via a work colleague) to see what he could get and I think he found a source but decided against it as it would have ruled out driving.

However, that's still a bit shady. OP's best bet is to contact UK-based medical cannabis groups and see if they know someone who could sort them out. They should be able to provide all the relevant information about where the land lies in regards to the law.