Terminally Ill NHS Nurse Joins Fight to Legalise Cannabis
“Its our human right to be pain free and comfortable.” – Sandra Smith, August 2015
While Ron Hogg has effectively decriminalised growing cannabis for personal use in the County of Durham, a former Care Nurse turned human rights campaigner has become the latest heroine out of the North east.
Sandra Smith is married, she pays her taxes, owns her home, votes, and was a hard working professional. She had never broken the law until now. Her life’s work was caring for others, as an NHS palliative care nurse she saw people die of cancer on a daily basis. They were wracked in pain, suffering from the crippling side effects of Chemotherapy and radiation, and she would watch them fade away.
This year aged 49, the mother and care nurse was given her own terminal diagnosis: Brain, liver and lung cancer. Within days she was undergoing chemotherapy sessions on a concoction of prescription drugs. Within months she was bed ridden and movement was confined to a wheel chair.
“My life stopped and I lived in hospital, lost friends as well as my independence and my confidence. The pain was physical, emotional and mental –. I’m still young and I felt cheated. It was horrendous to go through chemo, I had all the side effects, sickness, diarrhoea, constipation, exhaustion.”
At this point her husband, buoyed by the National Cancer Institute’s clear information on cannabis in the treatment of cancer and the growing global awareness to its medicinal properties, suggested cannabis oil treatment. At first the former nurse was terrified having had no experience with cannabis or any illegal drugs, but given her options she decided to give it a try.
“They told me there was no way I’d see the end of the year and there was nothing to lose. The NHS has offered me three more rounds of chemo and if the cancer doesn’t get me, the chemo will. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
She started on a daily dose of 1 gram of 1:1 oil, the first dose gave her the best night’s sleep she had since her diagnosis, and two months on, she credits cannabis oil as giving her a quality of life back.
“I’m in no pain at all, I don’t take prescription drugs, I sleep at night and it helps with inflammation. I know if I stopped taking it, I’d be in hospital in days and at this stage, I should be in bed by now, waiting to die.”
Sandra, like so many others who discover the medicinal benefits of the Cannabis Sativa L plant has now dedicated her life to campaigning for its decriminalisation. Supported by a network of CCC’s in the north east, she is now self-sufficient and makes her own medicine at home. She also fields daily calls, offering advice and emotional support to other cancer sufferers across the UK. Shaking her head at their plight and hers, she rues the day if ever the Police come knocking:
“I’d love my day in court, love to see the police try to take my medicine – I’ll tell them about the people like me out there suffering and the children left suffering that could be helped with cannabis. It’s disgusting I have to do something illegal to get pain relief that works.”
She now urges the Government for its immediate decriminalisation:
“I will never understand why the government allows this to happen and I will fight to the end for cannabis to be decriminalised for all. It will keep people safer, they can become self-sufficient, everyone will know what they’re getting and it would genuinely help people like me.”
“I’m not knocking traditional medicine but it comes down to personal choice and it’s our human right not to suffer.”
Mrs Smith believes she will die pain free, and with dignity and strength, with memories of a day trips to the Yorkshire coast and smiling to the end.
We salute you Mrs Sandra Smith.
Cannabis Oil kills cancer as advised by the National Cancer Institute
How Do I get hold of it for my wife who has been given weeks to live and is in the hospice on restbite
How can i send a PM ?
where do you have to live to obtain this i am in chronic pain have doc diagnosis yet fighting disabily and smoking helps but if i could do a dose a day just to get through 5 or 6 hrs a day i just turned 50 this started at 45
They are not listening as I woke up to this email in response to signing a petition along with over 200k others. They even make the response sound like the 200k so signed it are all druggies! Very angry today!
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/104349?reveal_response=yes
It will never change. I`m sick of seeing these coffee mornings and getting people to shave their heads just for money.
If cancer uk wont to the clinical trials on hemp, we shouldn`t give them a penny.
It should be legal to grow your own so we can make this oil ourselves.
I am livid at the Government response to the petition- it’s a load of propaganda. They care about their PR not the people.
Is it because the government in power has inherited a sytem, and way of doing things that puts accumulation of money above the health needs of the people it is ment to be serving and representing? Why are we being told ignorantly “Dont do that, because I said so, or else.” by those in authority, Representing law and order? Are we excepting this as lawfull treatment? If we the people of Britain choose to consume ganja, marijuana , so be it. Medically or recreationally who can really tell us any different besides GOD Alone? Last I checked HE created all green herbs for meat. My complaint is not only against the people claiming to have authority that are using what they claim is law to condemn and shape our minds how they see fit, acting or playing god for the sake of their own greedy benefit, agenda & social preference.
My complaint is against those that re enforce laws that are made up without moral fibre whatsoever, yet are somehow empowering police and court and judicial official representitives to have such extreme prejudice toward ganja consumers, that they have been imprisoned for possesing n consuming maryjuana.
These people are expressing intelligence and a desire for self preservation, not to go along with the farse and heavilly taxed exploitation of the tobacco and alchohol industry and market. We are being fooled as a Nation in general to Condone the sale of cigarettes and alchohol but to condemn the use and sale of ganja, one with medical implications that may even cause death namely ciggarrettes & alcohol, whilst the counter part product maryjuana A.K.A ganja has been acknowledged for its medical benefits & even reversing symptoms that are causing death, along with several or many other benefits medically or recreationally food & industry. Yet we are being conditioned and told looking at the social geography of our country, taking into consideration the habbits allowed to the people by the government and law officials, to smoke ciggarrettes and drink alcohol recreationally “coz thats what you been told or else coz I said so.”
So im like seriously, so a police officer will/can arrest me for possesing ganja, even a small amount but that same representitive of the moral fibre of society allows me to posses and consume as much tobbacco as I choose, even allows the shop keeper to sell as much as he can pumping as much tobbaco n alchohol into my comunity as they want even though it clearly states now IT KILLS.
They couldnt/wouldn’t or tbh dont have the right to print “IT WILL KILL YOU” on a pkt of ganja ciggarettes. Oh No! established & credible medical proffessionals wouldnt agree or Condone that lie, so why are we the British people allowing ourselves to be bullied on our own soil. If Ganja (re)entered the English market, it would revolutionise the economic ability for poorer people to survive with a much greater sustained quality of life as the plant itself has a lot more to offer than its much sought after oils n buds, clothes, paper & fuel oil are a few of the exploitable advantages of using ganja as a Nation. In conclusion it is my contention that for fear ganja will heavilly impact the financial monopoly of capitalist run society, the leaders of this farse would rather condemn the GOD Given Herb and all that seek its medical and recreational benefits.” EVERY SUBSTANCE IS PURE.” I believe these monstrous oppressive people fear alcohol and especially tobacco sales will plummet, leaving those benefitting from killing and disabling Englands people ‘high’ n dry’ so to speak. from the pushing of tobbaconist n alcohol outlets landwide to few if any once the peoples eyes are unveiled to the benefits of consuming ganja instead of tobbaco & alchohol. So do they have the right for the sake of tax money income to expose the British public to addictive harmful substances? Whilst condemning the healthier and more enjoyable (I myt add) alternative, namely Ganja?