United Patients Alliance

The UK has been one of the slowest European countries to modernise their outdated cannabis laws. It has been a frustrating time for those of us in the UK that use cannabis for medical reasons. GW Pharmaceuticals have a Government license to legally grow thousands of kilo's of cannabis which is concentrated into oil form and put into an oral spray called Sativex. This legal cannabis extract is sold for several times the comparable street price, and is so expensive that the UK National Health Service can't afford to supply it. GW Pharmaceuticals are allowed to grow pot for medical use but I am not. The UK law is badly in need of reform.

The UK has been one of the slowest European countries to modernise their outdated cannabis laws. It has been a frustrating time for those of us in the UK that use cannabis for medical reasons. GW Pharmaceuticals have a Government license to legally grow thousands of kilo's of cannabis which is concentrated into oil form and put into an oral spray called Sativex. This legal cannabis extract is sold for several times the comparable street price, and is so expensive that the UK National Health Service can't afford to supply it. GW Pharmaceuticals are allowed to grow pot for medical use but I am not. The UK law is badly in need of reform.

I, like many other people in the UK that have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) am denied the legal cannabis extract on cost grounds. So I have to buy and use cannabis illegally, supporting the criminal black market when I do so. Meanwhile in Europe, North America and elsewhere people that need cannabis for medical reasons are allowed it. The situation in the UK is clearly ridiculous. That’s why we formed the United Patients Alliance (UPA) to campaign for legal use of cannabis for medical purposes in the UK.

The UPA is an organisation focused purely on the legalisation of cannabis for medical use. In the USA we have seen state after state present the case for legal marijuana, and state after state has legalised it. What the UK needs is an evidence based debate, but historically UK politicians have dodged the issue far too easily in the past. That is starting to change, and the UPA plans to be at the heart of it.

Our focus is two pronged, firstly we want to concentrate on the political activities in Government, this has been the way other countries have made progress. And when politicians are presented with the facts about the numerous medical uses of cannabis we have seen remarkable progress in the debate. The prohibitionists don’t like being faced with un-refutable evidence, so that’s what we plan to do.

Secondly we want to help raise awareness of medical cannabis for various conditions. To do this it is important that we encourage other medical patient’s to share their stories in the media. I feel well placed to help with this after having experience on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and SKY as well as many newspapers and magazines. Keiron Reeves similarly has taken to the Radio and News papers with his story of how much cannabis helps his epilepsy. Keiron’s story proved to be very popular making the front page of his local paper which lead to him talking on BBC Radio and Spirit FM. It is important that we raise awareness of medical cannabis and seek the help of the general public. If the public are on board then it will make lobbying our elected representatives that much easier.

We are a new lobby group in the UK, but we are confident. We know we have a winning argument, we just need to get it heard. My local MP, Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, has given us great support and has helped us launch the UPA . She supports evidence based policy and is not afraid to say so.

In addition to meeting with Caroline Lucas MP we have also met twice with Norman Baker MP who is the Home Office minister with high-level political responsibility at the top levels of Parliament. Keiron Reeves of the UPA and I met with Normal Baker at his local constituency office in Lewes. We were then very pleased to be invited to Westminster where we met in the Home Office with Norman Baker. He was sympathetic to the MS that I deal with and the Epilepsy which Keiron Reeves uses cannabis for. Both of us are illegal medical cannabis users, we break the law everyday and under current UK law we are criminals alongside probably hundreds of thousands of other medical cannabis users. We explained to Norman Baker that we needed protection from the law, and that the law needs fundamental changes to bring the UK into line with other nations. We also explained that we need help now, not in a few years time when lethargic Government officials have had a few more years to dodge the issue.

The UK misuse of drugs act has cost billions over the last few decades and has dished out damaging and pointless criminal records to over a million UK citizens. It is unfair, illogical and expensive. The UK Misuse of Drugs act is also ineffective, drugs in the UK have never been as pure or as cheap. The only winners from UK cannabis prohibition are the organised criminals who have been gifted full control of an unregulated drugs market on which they pay a nominal rate of 0% income tax. It’s ridiculous and the only question is when, not if, change comes.

When the UK originally made cannabis possession, cultivation and supply illegal there were perhaps half a million regular users. Now even Government statistics indicate the UK has 2-3 million cannabis users. By any standards, the UK Government has spent £Billions over the last 4 decades to achieve absolutely nothing. These are the arguments we are putting directly to the heart of the UK Government. The cherished UK Misuse of Drugs Act has cost billions and the sick truth is that the only result of it has been the financial enrichment of organised crime.

In the old days it was political suicide for a politician to get involved in cannabis legalisation debates. Now the tide is turning, politicians are starting to make themselves look bad by arguing against a well presented case for the legal use of medical cannabis.

The UPA has not complicated the debate by arguing for the legalisation of recreational cannabis, this was a difficult decision for us to make but we felt it necessary at this stage. If we did push for legal recreational weed straight away it would make it too easy for the politicians to dismiss us. We believe that legal medical cannabis will be the first step, and we believe that with the correct approach we will be able to help push the UK law in the right direction. It is a matter of urgency that UK patients have access to this vital medicine. Watch this space, it’s time for the UK to catch up with the rest of the world.

See more at www.clarkfrench.co.uk