Medical Cannabis was legalised in 2018, and the NHS promised to prescribe over 20,000 patients with the breakthrough medication and since then and until Jan 2022 only 3 people are prescribed Medical Cannabis on the NHS.

Thousands of patients have had to resort to a private prescription, where patients are having to pay hundreds each month for a treatment that works for them.

Unfortunately even with time to develop and learn from patient's experiences, the standards of the medication patients receive is way below what is expected and nearly not as good enough to be considered effective or a healthy treatment.

Patients are being forced to use medication that has gone through Gamma/Beta Radiation and Cold Plasma Treatment to reduce cost and speed up time for curing. Curing is the most important part of producing high quality Medical Cannabis along with many other practices. With these types of treatments it can remove or completely change up to 38% of terpenes in most cannabis strains that have been tested, which are compounds found in cannabis that make up the essential oils that Cannabis produces. These essential oils are what provide the effects patients would find from their local grower, dealer from the black market or dispensaries in legal countries.

With the change that the irradiation does to the medicine, the terpense go from having the good and effective flavonoids to having none or some unwanted terpenes which produce the opposite effects as you would expect from that strain.

Irradiation and fast drying treatments isn't only to speed up time and reduce costs, it is also done to prevent the build up of mould. With the right method of drying and curing, mould and other harmful products would not be present. Many individuals from around the world have used Cannabis and not had any mould issues, there is no Radiation Treatment for Cannabis bought off the streets or legal markets so why implement it into Medical Treatments that require specific and individually preferred strains and terpene flavonoids.

Patients with autoimmune issues may require irradiated or treated cannabis for assurance that their medicine will not cause them harm, this should then be an option or a recommendation for patients as such. Those who do not suffer from immune problems should be allowed higher quality cannabis at it's full spectrum.

I am a patient of Medical Cannabis, prescribed for a condition I have had for the majority of my life. My current prescription is the only affordable and manageable option I have available. My condition relies on the terpenes of certain strains which not only produce smells and flavour but induce effects that gives me complete relief. This I do not get from the current irradiated strain I'm prescribed. 

There's a large debate in regards to the the irradiation of cannabis, as it is beneficial in removing all unwanted contaminants to fit regulation yet some compounds are destroyed. There's research from producers to say it's safe and there's no real change but individuals and patients who have consumed Cannabis for so long or for those individuals who have had first hand experience with the cultivation process, we know what changes are made and affected by radiation. 

GMP regulations set for Cannabis requires producers to provide reliable and safe products free of contaminants such as microbes, pesticides and heavy metals. Producers prefer to use Radiation as a quick and cheap method of ensuring that these requirements are met, ignoring the fact there's terpenes that are beneficial to patients like myself. Where there is non-irradiated cannabis the prices are extremely unaffordable, this makes it harder for someone like myself who has a job but is unable to afford the Cannabis strain that works. Some patients, specifically those registered with Project21 who's original medical costs have gone up exponentially, are having to rely back on inconsistent yet effective Cannabis off the streets due to the expensive prices and low standards set for their medicine. We want organic medical cannabis. This needs to change.

Please show your support by signing and sharing this petition. If you or someone you know is a Medical Cannabis patient, please feel free to express what you or their experience has been like with irradiated Medical Cannabis so others may understand the impact this has on individual treatment.