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cannabis question

caffi
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Hi . I wonder if anybody is able to help with this question which is causing me a lot of concern. My dear friend has a brain tumour which does not generally cause her pain. However, she has crippling arthritis which is exceedingly painful.  she has been buyin "street" cannabis which, obviously is mixed with chemicals and I feel sure that, although it undoubdetdly gives her pain relief, her suicidal thoughts have intensified since she has been using this cannabis.

Is there any LEGAL way of buying cannabis as pain relief? I know this will be expensive but am prepared to pay if it will help her and stop her using the other sources.

Any ideas?

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    Hi termeric capsuls capsuls with black pepers  very good i have scroylilitas  and syatica its taken the pain away itd a antiinflammatory you have to take it regulary and its an antioxidant . I think they can precribe canabis oil but its limited i would ask your gp yes i think its the pcb in canabis thats the problem it can cause all sorts o o probs its good for crohns disease to but if you feeling down it realy makes you worse .try the turmeric people have been using it for thousands of years but u must have a word with dr first as with anything your friend takes .best wishs paul

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    I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think medical cannabis is available (or will be soon). It has to be prescribed. I believe the kind that will be available legally can't get you high. So it should have minimal amounts of THC whic is the chemical compound that gets people high. A lot of people have been talking about CBD oil these days for pain relief. It doesn't get you high. It should just treat the symptoms. The problem with street cannabis isn't that it's laced with chemicals, it's that it keeps getting stronger. With extremely high levels of THC and low to no CBD which balances out the negative effects of THC. This kind of cannabis can lead to all sorts of negative effects, like psychosis, paranoia, anxiety etc. 

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    Hello caffi,

    I am sorry to hear about your friend's diagnosis. She is lucky to have a friend who cares so much about her wellbeing. It's nice of you to be concerned about her and perhaps she needs to talk to her GP about her suicidal thoughts so that they can help her feel better.

    Whilst cannabis still remains illegal to purchase in the UK and unlicensed for medical use, from 1st November expert doctors have been given the option to legally issue prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines when they agree that their patients could benefit from this treatment. The decision to prescribe these unlicensed medicines must be made by a specialist doctor – not a GP. These doctors focus on one field of medicine such as neurology or paediatrics and are listed on the General Medical Council’s specialist register. They must make decisions on prescribing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on a case-by-case basis, and only when the patient has an unmet special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed products. These products are not available legally via the internet or any other source. Patients under the care of a specialist should discuss their treatment plan with them.

    You can find out more about it on this page.

    I hope this helps!

    Best wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

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