Cannabis News
Cannabis NHS: Lisa Quarrell to share her insights with doctors
Lisa Quarrell, a Scottish mother, and campaigner for medical cannabis will join expert clinicians in Edinburgh on September 13th to share her insights into life-changing medical cannabis NHS treatments.
The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society has invited clinicians and patients across Scotland to an event called ‘Medical Cannabis: Everything You Need To Know’, which wants to help raise awareness and improve understanding of specialist medication for Scottish doctors.
Quarrell has a son, Cole Thompson, who has a severe form of epilepsy, and she has been campaigning for several years after seeing the effect that medical cannabis had on him.
Lisa struggles to afford the high monthly fee for a private cannabis prescription and has been campaigning for cannabis to be fully licensed on the NHS so that parents like herself can more easily access the medicine.
Much like the famous mother and son Charlotte and Billy Caldwell, staunch advocates for medical cannabis for epilepsy, Quarrell even went as far as to illegally bring cannabis oil into the UK from the Netherlands, as her son’s seizures were so severe.
The life-changing impact that this treatment had on Cole will be the focus of her talk at the event.
Cannabis NHS: 'A fantastic opportunity'
She will be joined by Dr Liz Iveson, consultant for neuro-rehabilitation and internal medicine and one of the first prescribers of medical cannabis treatments in the UK, Dr Anna Ross, drug policy stakeholder expert and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and Katya Kowalski, head of operations at Volteface.
Hosting the event will be the chair of MCCS (Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society) Professor Mike Barnes.
In an interview with Cannabis Health News he commented: “The event is a fantastic opportunity for clinicians, medical students and patients to learn the facts about this treatment and practical steps to prescribing and accessing a legal prescription.”
The event itself is open to clinicians,medical students, scientists, researchers, professionals and industry workers, as well as potential or current patients.
There will be plenty of opportunity for networking, and a panel for the speakers to be questioned by anyone curious about medical cannabis NHS and the current state of prescribing, evidence and availability in the UK.
Hannah Deacon, vice-chair of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society, also spoke to Cannabis Health News: “The Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society believes that everyone who could benefit from medical cannabis should have access to it. Our mission is to give clinicians access to evidence, training, expert guidance, peer support and licensed product information so they can prescribe life-changing medical cannabis treatments to all patients in the UK, on the NHS.”
The society has over 300 clinicians, GPs, nurses and allied health professionals all dedicated to the understanding and use of cannabis in the medical profession, sharing best practices, learning from each other and providing regular expert support to their peers.
