Charity backs campaign to end cannabis drug "postcode lottery"
Sativex is an oral spray based on cannabis
Sativex is an oral spray based on cannabis
A charity which supports people with Multiple Sclerosis is backing a patient who claims funding for a cannabis-based drug should be available for everybody.
Cannabis itself has been used as a medicinal treatment for hundreds of years, but is still illegal in the UK in its raw form.
Yvette Hodges had the medication recommended by her GP, but the Worcestershire Area Prescribing Committee has refused to fund it. She said she is aware of a number of people who self-medicate with cannabis, through various support groups and networks online.
""I am aware that people would turn to cannabis to relieve their pain - my theory on that is, if Sativex was available, I don't think people would do that.
I think the people who are turning to that do it because they can't get the drug that they need."
- Yvette Hodges
This has led to the MS Society launching its Treat Me Right campaign to call on health bosses to review prescribing levels for people diagnosed with MS.
The society wants all NHS bodies to fund Sativex - saying it should not be based on a patient's postcode.
""For years, the government has said 'we will prosecute people who use cannabis medicinally, people should wait for the pharmaceutical product to be available and that will then be prescribed'.
Well, the product is now available, and it's not being prescribed, so that leaves people between a rock and a hard place.
People should have access to it so they're not forced to look for what is still an illegal drug."
- Nick Rijke, MS Society
Sativex is not currently funded by any of the NHS commissioning bodies in the Calendar region - they say they need more evidence that it is value for money
http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2014-07-29/charity-backs-campaign-to-end-cannabis-drug-postcode-lottery/ 29/07/2014
S
Soft Secrets
