Going to pot: using cannabis derivatives as medicinal treatments

Strict guidelines control access to medical cannabis but there are calls to broaden regulations so more people can avail of its therapeutic properties 

Broadly defined as any cannabis derivative used as a medicinal treatment, medical cannabis can take the form of dried cannabis plant material or products made from purified extracts of the plant

Connemara-based Robert Joyce was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) over three decades ago. The 54-year-old former business consultant was holidaying in San Francisco when he first experienced the “incredible impact” of medical cannabis (MC) in 2019. Suffering constant head pain from a car accident five years prior, he says that the accident also triggered a worsening of his spasticity—the stiffness and involuntary muscle spasms associated with his MS—to the point where traditional medicines were proving less effective.

“When I took the cannabis oil, my ability to walk really improved to the extent that I was able to walk all around Alcatraz, which is a very hilly island [in San Francisco],” he says. “My mobility improved dramatically, and another added benefit—I found that I had much greater tolerance in how I managed the pain. I was suddenly able to concentrate and sit with all the noise, sound, and activity of a restaurant without finding my pain escalating.”