Tipperary chronic pain sufferer: Buying cannabis on black market makes me feel dirty

Woman who has suffered pain for 20 years calls for drug to be available legally to patients in off-licences and dispensaries

Patients for Safe Access says the goal of its conference is to create a patient-led national policy agenda and empower grassroots advocacy.

A Tipperary woman who uses cannabis for chronic pain says having to buy the drug on the black market makes her feel dirty and she wants it to be legal for people in her position to use it.

Aimee Brown from Roscrea is one of the speakers at a conference being held in Dublin on Saturday by the group Patients for Safe Access (PFSA).

The 30-year-old has suffered for more than 20 years with chronic pain because of health conditions including endometriosis and adenomyosis.

“Prohibition makes me feel dirty. It’s not fair," said Ms Brown. "I don’t want to be reduced to that. I should be able to go into an off-licence or a dispensary and be able to choose which strain I want to suit which ailment. 

"If I was in Canada, there is Endometriosis Network Canada which runs workshops on what strains to consume, in which ways, and which is best for what symptoms.

Here, I am a criminal or a junkie.  If I died tomorrow, there would be outpourings for me to rest in peace. Where is the outcry for me to live in peace? 

The group says the goal of the conference at the Sugar Club is to create a patient-led national policy agenda and empower grassroots advocacy.

“Medical cannabis patients and caregivers founded PFSA to overcome barriers to safe access to medical cannabis, end stigma and discrimination against patients, and educate stakeholders on the science and benefits of this natural medicine," it said, adding that medical cannabis is still in its infancy here. 

"How well our national programme works for patients depends on the decisions lawmakers make right now. The best outcomes come when those affected by policies have a seat at the table.” 

Currently, according to the Department of Health, there are 12 patients approved for products listed under Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs (Prescription and Control of Supply of Cannabis for Medical Use) Regulations 2019, through the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP).

Prescribing products

The existing MCAP scheme covers the prescribing of cannabis-based products by medical consultants, for patients with certain medical conditions who have exhausted all other available medical treatment options. The conditions are spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis; intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, and severe refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.

A department spokeswoman said: “In 2022, following completion of an updated evidence review, the department plans to establish an expert group to further review the use of cannabis for medical use. 

"Members have not yet been appointed to this review panel as work is ongoing on the research aspect of this work.”