Cannabis as a Medicinal Alternative

Given the proven medicinal qualities of cannabis, many are using it to treat certain conditions, especially if pharmaceutical drugs are ineffective. Suffers from chronic pain conditions and epilepsy, in particular, are trying to source cannabis that can help bring relief to their conditions.

Despite the UK being the largest exporter of medical cannabis in the world with a 44% market share, marijuana is hard to get hold of in Britain. As such, people have started to grow their own, obtaining cannabis seeds online, buying some equipment, and once the plant is ready, harvesting it.

Medical Cannabis Seeds

This has resulted in medical cannabis seeds being featured on websites that supply grow your own cannabis equipment. The demand is there, and if you suffer with a condition that is hard to treat pharmaceutically, the option is there to get hold of cannabis seeds and grow your own medicine.

Facts about Cannabis as a Medical Drug

Cannabis has been and is extensively researched in relation to medicinal use. Here are a few facts:

•       Chronic Pain Relief– A 2017 study found that Cannabinoids, the active ingredient in cannabis, is a very good reliever of pain. This has huge health implications as the number of suffers in Britain alone is around 28 million.
•       Alcoholism/Drug Addiction– A Clinical Psychology Review study discovered that there was some evidence that breaking addiction could be assisted by using cannabis. This contradicts what many British people were told for years that using cannabis led to greater drug use.

More recently, investigations into the treatment of cannabis in beating opioid addictions are showing positive signs. In America, there are fewer opioid-related overdoses in states that have allowed medical cannabis.

•       Epilepsy– Studies have proven that cannabis is the only real treatment for severe forms of epilepsy, such as Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndrome. In one study, 120 epileptic children were given oral cannabis in addition to their normal meds. Nearly 40% saw a dramatic reduction in seizures, sometimes falling as much as 50% over a month.
•       Mental Illness– There is some evidence that depression, social anxiety, and PTSD can be treated using cannabis. Other conditions such as bipolar and psychosis, the effect is negative.

The Legal Status of Cannabis

In Britain, the legal status of cannabis seeds is that to grow your own cannabis you need to obtain permission from the Home Office and buy a licence. This is a time consuming process but you may have no choice.

Although you are allowed to use medical cannabis if it has been proscribed by a doctor, and it has been approved at the government level, it has not been approved by NICE, the body that authorises drugs for medical use in the NHS.

Additionally, doctors can only proscribe medical cannabis if pharmaceutical drugs are proven to be ineffective. Even if they are approved, as NICE hasn’t approved them, getting hold of drugs that can bring relief to your condition is proving difficult. You can be forgiven for getting a little angry about this, especially when you consider Britain exports more medical cannabis than any other country in the world.

As such, many are growing their own medical cannabis to try and get around this absurdity. If you feel cannabis can bring relief to you or a family member, you should consider doing the same.