The Benefits of Cannabis and Chronic Pain – Why Isn’t It Available in The UK?
One of the things I love about the endometriosis community on Instagram is the ability to connect with people all over the world from my little terrace house in Belfast. Chatting with others in Australia, Canada and the USA, it has been eye-opening learning about the role of cannabis as a treatment for their chronic pain. As someone who has a chronic inflammatory condition and who is allergic to anti-inflammatories (thanks body), medications for my pain in the UK are limited to opioids or anti-depressants. Watching others in the Endo community from afar, learning about the positive impact that cannabis has on their lives, is both inspiring and frustrating. Will cannabis ever be made available for chronic pain suffers in the UK?
In 2018, in a landmark ruling, medical cannabis was finally legalised in the UK, but when the NICE guidelines for recommended usage were published in 2019, they paved the way for an incredibly limited set of circumstances that qualified for prescriptions. These guidelines which have solidified the tone for access and usage of medical marijuana in the UK, state that medical cannabis of any kind should not be prescribed to those suffering with chronic pain. With 10-13% of the population of the UK suffering from chronic pain that causes a moderate to severe disabling impact on their day to day life, that is a huge section of people that are not able to access this type of medication[i]. These recommendations are at odds with other countries that have legalised medical cannabis, with 62.2% of medical cannabis prescriptions in the USA being for sufferers of chronic pain.
Instagram has given me the opportunity to learn about the benefits of cannabis offers sufferers of Endometriosis from across the water. There is no one who I have learnt more from about this from, than the iconic Buzzfeed Deputy Director and Author Lara Parker, who uses her Instagram platform to raise awareness about Endometriosis, promote sex-positivity and document the importance of cannabis as medication for her pain. This is something that is echoed throughout the Instagram community, with many people with endometriosis noticing the real benefits that having legal access to medical cannabis has given them.
Georgia from @theendojournal is based in Queensland, Australia and has recently started using medical marijuana to manage her endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibromyalgia. She explained to me that ‘Cannabis takes the edge off my pain. Of course, I’m never 100% pain free but it reduces my pain so I’m able to live a somewhat normal life. I get very minimal side effects in comparison to pharmaceuticals. The only downside it is very expensive in Australia.’
Brooklynn from @the_chronic_endo_ills is based in Seattle, Washington. She explained to me that, ‘Cannabis helps my chronic pain and illness in so many ways. It has helped replace many other drugs I was reliant on daily for pain and nausea.’ She uses cannabis in all forms, from topicals and suppositories to ease cramping and contractions in her pelvis and lower back, to CBD, smoking and edibles to help manage her nausea, allowing her to eat most days. She went onto to say that, ‘Using cannabis makes things like getting the dog out for a walk or preparing a meal possible. It also helps keep me in a more positive mindset when navigating the pain, depression and anxiety that comes along with illness. Without cannabis it would be difficult to eat, walk, stand... basically to function, or have any kind of sexual experiences. I am so grateful to have the access to this *naturally occurring plant* that I do and believe that it should accessible for all.’
Spending my days scrolling through Instagram and learning about how so many people in other countries are experiencing positive benefits from cannabis fills me with hope but also frustration. If there is something out there, that can help make my life more bearable, why is it illegal and unavailable for so many here? In a poll conducted by the Centre for Medical Cannabis, it estimated that many of the 1.4 million users of illegal cannabis are using it to self-medicate an already diagnosed condition. And I can believe it, because boy I’ve been there. Before I was able to access excision surgery, I used edibles to manage my pain, and most importantly found that they helped me experience pain free orgasms for the first time in a very long time.
When every single part of your life has been shadowed in pain, even the parts that are meant to bring you pleasure, finding something to ease that, was an incredibly emotive moment. For that split second, I wasn’t abnormal or struggling, I was able to let go and enjoy this sensual, natural moment without the agony that would normally bring me.
Thankfully, there are now legal CBD options available in the UK, any products containing THC is still illegal. But there are now many CBD infused products to help with pelvic pain. From the likes of Foria Wellness which offers CBD rubs, supplements and suppositories which help with pain during intimacy or menstruation, to Daye CBD infused tampons which can help relieve cramps during menstruation.
But the truth is, when you are struggling with chronic pain and it is eating away at every aspect of your everyday life, all you want is something that gives you relief. Something to return some essence of normality, whether that is just being able to orgasm without throwing up from the pain or being able to go for a walk with the dog. All of these everyday things that so many people take for granted. If cannabis can allow us to do this, without the nasty side effects of nausea or a groggy hangover, then why shouldn’t we be allowed to legally use it?
Often when I find myself scrolling, chatting and learning from the many other Endo sufferers out there who legally use cannabis to offer relief to their pain, I am filled with a longing and hope, that one day, maybe in my lifetime this will be available for me to try at home. That it will be a regulated system, that there will be no fear of criminalisation, of who has made this product, hell, maybe you’ll even be allowed to grow your own! One day, I hope that this will be the case, so I no longer watch the benefits from across the ocean and can openly experience them myself, in a legal, supportive environment.
Written by Sarah Rose
Sarah Rose is a freelance writer from Belfast who writes about all things pelvic pain. She uses her Instagram platform mypelvicpain to share her journey with endometriosis and raise awareness around this condition and its impact on her life. Sarah’s sole aim is to help others and ensure that no one ever has to suffer in silence again.