New survey knowledge reveals the myriad of points dealing with UK sufferers, 4 years on from the legalisation of medical hashish.
Knowledge collected from a latest survey paints a combined image of the expertise of medical hashish sufferers within the UK.
Affected person advocacy group PLEA (Affected person-Led Engagement for Entry) gathered responses from over 350 hashish sufferers within the UK, to get a greater understanding of their experiences.
4 years on from the legalisation of medical hashish on 1 November 2018, the outcomes present that many sufferers are nonetheless dealing with appreciable obstacles akin to price, provide and societal stigma.
Who took half within the survey?
Most of those that took half within the research (56%) had a authorized prescription for hashish, whereas 39% classed themselves as self-medicating.
Simply over half had been male with most between 25-55 years of age. Over a 3rd recognized as ‘disabled, not in a position to work’ and 29% had been in full-time employment.
The principle situations for which sufferers had been prescribed hashish embrace anxiousness, ADHD, low temper, insomnia, ache (joint/muscle/nerve), PTSD, irritation, gastric points and OCD.
Nearly all of sufferers had been beforehand prescribed prescription drugs for his or her situation. Since having a prescription for hashish, 38% had been in a position to cease using prescription drugs solely whereas 46% report utilizing fewer.
Present obstacles
Regardless of the potential advantages for his or her well being situation, sufferers proceed to fall sufferer to points with provide, consistency and high quality management relating to prescribed hashish merchandise.
Two thirds (62%) mentioned that they had skilled ‘unreasonable’ delays to their prescription and 31% had skilled high quality management points, akin to receiving a broken or contaminated product.
Over a 3rd of sufferers (35%) are spending over £350 a month for his or her prescription, with 46% paying between £150 – £300.
That is principally funded utilizing their advantages (59%) or employment wage (44%) with some getting help by means of an entry scheme, which helps to subsidise the associated fee.
However regardless of clear points with the dishing out of merchandise, 80% of sufferers mentioned they had been glad with their prescribing clinic, with solely 20% score the standard of service as ‘unacceptable’.
How sufferers are consuming hashish
Nearly 87% of sufferers had been already consuming hashish earlier than accessing a medical prescription, in accordance with the survey.
The typical quantity of hashish flower consumed per thirty days was 39g and sufferers consumed a median of 28ml of oil-based merchandise. Most sufferers say they devour their remedy a number of instances a day.
A minority of sufferers (28%) additionally complement their prescription with store-bought CBD, whereas 38% reported supplementing it with self-sourced hashish.
Stigma stays rife
Vital experiences of stigma in direction of hashish sufferers from others in society, together with police and employers had been additionally reported.
Amongst these sufferers in employment, solely half had been permitted by their employer to devour their prescription throughout work hours.
Elsewhere, 10% have been stopped by the police since having their prescription, with one affected person having been charged with possession and 9% had skilled issues with housing as a result of their chosen remedy.
Assembly the wants of sufferers
There at the moment are considered over 20,000 sufferers holding a authorized prescription for hashish within the UK. Whereas this dataset represents a small pattern of this cohort, lots of the points highlighted come as little shock.
Zach Thompson, chair of PLEA, informed Hashish Well being: “The UK affected person survey was designed to raised perceive the expertise sufferers have with cannabis-based merchandise, in addition to figuring out any obstacles to authorized entry and areas of unmet want.
“A few of these findings are disappointing, if not wholly shocking. At PLEA we commonly hear from sufferers who’re experiencing difficulties in accessing their prescription, whether or not that’s as a result of delays or monetary obstacles, in addition to those that have confronted outright discrimination while going about their each day lives.”
He added: “It’s good to see that so many sufferers are pleased with the care they obtain from their clinics, however provide points, high quality management and value proceed to have an effect on nearly all of prescription holders. As we mark the fourth anniversary of the legislation change, we’re nonetheless a way off the entry which many within the UK hoped for and certainly, had been promised.
“We are going to focus on many of those points over the approaching days as a part of Medical Hashish Consciousness Week and within the coming months, we hope to make use of this knowledge to make sure that affected person wants are prioritised because the trade develops.”
Discover out extra about Medical Hashish Consciousness Week right here