Former Nurse takes Medical Cannabis fight to the House of Lords
A former nurse is fighting for her right to medicinal cannabis, and her argument has been taken all the way to the House of Lords.
Lara Smith, a former paediatric nurse and now a member of the drug policy reform group CLEAR, has spinal arthritis and her only source of pain relief is Bedrocan. However, Smith has to travel to Holland every three months, running a “customs gauntlet” in order to obtain her medicine.
Today, after campaigns from the likes of Lara Smith, the House of Lords will be listening to a series of experts discuss how access to medical cannabis could help thousands of people suffering from MS, arthritis and a host of other ailments.
Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 act, which means the Government consider it to have no medicinal value.
Speaking to the media, Smith stated;
Having a medicine that works makes a massive difference. I certainly don’t cry as much as I used to. I’ve got less pain and I’m more tolerant and able, and I can sit down with my children with a clarity of mind to help them with their homework. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform say it should be a Schedule 2 medicine and I should be allowed to import it. I’ve pushed really hard to get this medicine, but it’s more important for the people that currently don’t have access to it. When it gets to the point that you can’t put your own socks on you’re in so much pain it gets beyond a joke.
Smith has recieved support from her local MP, as well as former Home Office Minister Norman Baker.
The case will be presented today at 3pm GMT.
It’s not marijuana, which is a term originally promoted for its racist connotations, it’s CANNABIS – and yes, it does matter, particularly in the UK where there is no excuse at all for using the American ‘M’ word.
Please don’t apologise to the convicted fraudster Peter Reynolds
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/archive/2002/09/30/5735106.Medical_magazine_editor_has_charges_dropped/?ref=arc
People can use whatever word they want. It neither matters its origins or its current connotations. If people are too dumb too know what is being talked about due to word usage, then they need an education. Additionally the term ‘Marijuana’ highlights why the drug was illegalised in the first place (for prejudicial and not sensible reasons). The term, in fact, highlights the mentality of a racist police and government system within the USA and therefor the word should not be avoided, but brought up as often as possible to remind corrupt elitists and the uninformed public of why a beautiful herb with such great medicinal properties is illegal. Obviously, prejudism is not the only reason it is ilegal, but it certainly helped the case for prohibiting it.
Reynolds your moot point as per usual is always critical, the few learned people who know of its anti-mexican name origins and certainly the mexican people are not too concerned. The word now is most commonly associated with the word “MEDICAL” , I think the mexican community would be very happy with its current usage.
Schedule 4 is the correct schedule, the same schedule as Sativex is under,
Schedule 4 is not the correct schedule. Nabiximols is in schedule 4 specifically on the basis that it is not cannabis but an extract of THC and CBD with “unspecified impuriities”. This is how the MHRA regards it. Obviously, to anyone with the knowledge that is clearly incorrect but nevertheless, this is the basis upon which it was placed in schedule 4.
Can this be viewed?
The appropriate extract is already on the CLEAR Facebook page and will be on our website within an hour or two.
Lara was not a paediatrician but a paediatric nurse. This is a very important distinction.
Has anyone ever got in contact with Dr Sanjay Gupta, in regard to him doing a documentary like his CNN weed over here ? That documentary helped convince members of my family that I was right to use cannabis in order to treat my illness, and might help people over here!
Sanjay came to the UK in 2013 with a full CNN production team. He interviewed me and a number of CLEAR members. A short segment on the UK was transmitted shortly afterwards. You can see it here: http://clear-uk.org/uks-cruel-and-corrupt-medicinal-cannabis-policy-exposed-by-cnns-dr-sanjay-gupta/
A longer documentary on the UK was planned but, as demonstrated by Ditchfield in this thread, there is so much conflict, abuse and fractious behaviour in the UK that CNN were frightened off. When you have people behaving as if they’re in a bar room brawl all the time it’s difficult for any part of the UK campaign to be taken seriously.
Reynolds, you’ve been ostracized by the UK canna ‘community’ because of your antics, your racism & homophobia, and of course the fact that you served 9 month in prison for a very serious financial fraud, no doubt it was for these reasons that Dr Gupta didn’t wanted to be tainted by associating with you or CLEAR
When will you be paying Chris Bovey the £25,000 you owe him over your mendacious law suit?
Most people interested in the topic already know that he’s a fraudster. They’ll be able to see his dubious activities all over the net. Don’t engage – sociopaths never admit any wrongdoing and it’s not worth your time.
So you made a “hash” of it scuse the pun , as to your awareness of confilct and infighting, if you seem to be at the centre of it and clear is largest campaign group that oversaw the Class B rescheduling perhaps its time to get some new PR or simply remove yourself from the line of fire with the ful scale turn over of clear as a charity and a election for new chair? Who is with me?
All I saw was a guy sticking his fingers in his ears and going “la la la la” while the undeniable science was put to him.
Mr Reynolds. Why are you currently hiding from the High Court Sheriffs? Shouldn’t you be paying Mr Bovey’s £25k legal bill as ordered by the High Court? Considering your son Richard is aiming to be a barrister, do you think that taking out vexatious lawsuits and forcing him to assist will help his career? Also, why haven’t you resigned yet?
“Look, we understood we couldn’t make it illegal to be young or poor or black in the United States, but we could criminalize their common pleasure. We understood that drugs were not the health problem we were making them out to be, but it was such a perfect issue…that we couldn’t resist it.”
– John Ehrlichman, White House counsel to President Nixon on the rationale of the War on Drugs.
Supporting the current drug laws is supporting a system founded on values of racist and social oppression, any arguments against the current drug laws should take the fact that the rationale for the prohibition of substances is founded on this ideology, and by supporting it you recognize that.
All I know is, when my son was dieing, he had cannabis oil, he had NO pain, and was calm right up to the end of his life, he was 25, even the doctors said Morphine would not stop the pain he would have had, im glad we brought him home, and let him die pain free, this should be the right of every human
Jeff is right, don’t believe a word from the convicted fraudster. He has a history of reporting medical marijuana patients to the police and currently owes of £25,000 in legal fees that he’s been ordered to pay by the Royal Courts of Justice, following his disastrous attempts to sue other cannabis activists for libel after they truthfully pointed out that Reynolds is a lying, sexist, racist, homophobic, antisemitic bigot who grasses up cannabis users.
For more info check out http://www.peter-reynolds-watch.com/
Hi there,
How would an activist from Canada who wants to fly over to help, get in touch with Lara Smith?
http://cannaeffect.org/david-george-oldham-how-are-we-not-in-awe-of-cannabis/
As an individual who suffers from a wide spectrum of illnesses, I can through personal expireience confirm that Mr Reynolds does indeed target those with mental health issues with his grassing to the police.
I have suffered both personal abuse through his continual trolling and frequent friend requesting (under aliases), so much so that at some points I have considered ending my life.
This man set up a hate site targeting myself and others.
Do not BELIEVE A WORD THIS MAN UTTERS, either sober or in his normal drunken, abusive state.
I can not understand you lot always arguing like a bunch of children over sweets, GROW UP don’t we all want the same for cannabis to be legal, the medicine to be available for all who need treating, from children to adults, from pain to treating cancer. Or to use it as a SAFER recreational alternative compared to Alcohol or Tobacco. All that matter is we all work for what is best to get cannabis available for Britain and Worldwide. Bitching each other like Faggots is just what Cameron wants. Wake up and Grow up.