A fibromyalgia patient is the first UK person prescribed cannabis. Carly Barton, now 32, suffered a stroke in her early 20’s that’s caused chronic pain since. After years of being prescribed heavy opiates, including Fentanyl, Barton felt out of it constantly and wanted to approach her condition in a non-addictive manner without all the side effects.
Cannabis treatment entered the picture around two years ago when Barton found that the illegal, yet effective herb quelled her pain without feeling like a zombie who was still experiencing pain from the fibromyalgia.
Finally, last month Barton received a prescription for medical marijuana and though now on the up and up, a three month supply will cost around £2,500.
Cannabis was rescheduled in the U.K., taking effect on November 1, and from that day forward doctors have been able to prescribe the cannabis plant based remedies. Barton, however, called the interim guidelines, “prohibition under another name,” in Mirror, saying that the laws as they stand currently “need setting on fire.”
Aside from being a medical marijuana patient, Barton is also deputy director of an advocacy group called United Patients Alliance. She called the legislative changes “pointless” if they aren’t followed up by fair guidelines.
It seems that medical cannabis, though now technically legal in the U.K., is a hush hush matter. Doctors’ offices won’t make appointments over the phone if the patient mentions cannabis or one of its many synonyms. Barton believes that its a lack of knowledge and information that has doctors and their offices so on edge.
It’s a common problem wherever cannabis is being medicalized and legalized around the globe. Medical school, in its traditional practice, does not cover many bases of cannabis treatment. For one thing, there are not enough peer reviewed studies on the benefits of marijuana and few to none of the studies morph into standard medicinal traditions as of yet.
While the world catches up to cannabis possibility, Barton and patients like her are limited in their choices. Right now, Barton is worried that her prescription may not be renewed or that she may not be able to afford it, sending her back into the realm of criminality. She went on to observe that, “We are going to be put in a position where the rich are patients and the poor are criminals.”
