Up to a third of UK children receiving end-of-life care are using cannabis as a means to manage their symptoms, it has been revealed by a recent survey.
Most were using it for pain relief.
With NHS bosses unwilling to grant wide access to cannabis on the NHS, many parents of unwell children are forced to break the law in order to reduce the suffering of their child.
Despite there being plenty of proof of its safety and efficacy (and the fact that 30% of terminally ill children are already using it), NHS bosses want more evidence before medical cannabis is widely prescribed, particularly to children.
Cannabis use
The survey, which was conducted by Medcan, asked a group of paediatric palliative care clinicians in the UK about their patients’ cannabis use.
The clinicians reported that a significant proportion of their patients – up to a third – were using cannabis for symptom management. The reasons for cannabis consumption differed, but the most common reason was for pain relief.
Dr Bob Phillips is a senior lecturer at the University of York and made comments on the latest findings:
“In the children’s long-term and life-limiting conditions’ arena, what we call hospice care, there’s a lot of surveys that have been done around what people are using and how they are using it.
“We’re seeing that maybe 30% of those patients with a life-limiting condition are using some form of cannabis-related products.”
Effective adjunctive therapy
Overall, the study highlights the often complex and challenging decisions faced by families and healthcare professionals when it comes to managing symptoms in children with terminal illnesses.
Many people are calling for UK doctors to accept that families may be using cannabis, alongside conventional treatments, to help treat symptoms in palliative cases.
Medcan Support co-founder Matt Hughes said:
“Families in these desperate situations are made aware, through patient communities and meeting other families in hospitals or similar settings, that, anecdotally, cannabis can be supportive in easing pain and alleviating comorbidities with cancer-related illnesses or diseases.
“A parent is going to go to any length to try and support their child to the very end, and cannabis time and time again has been shown to be an effective adjunctive therapy alongside traditional treatments.”
More evidence wanted, still?
UK Doctor, Dr Phillips, told CannabisHealthNews that he is asked about medical cannabis by many of his patients, but he believes much more high-quality evidence is needed around its safety and efficacy before cannabis-based products are made easily obtainable across the NHS.
He said: “We have to demonstrate safety, efficacy and the funding stream.
“What we need is decent quality evidence. It doesn’t have to be from the UK, but it has to be decent-quality evidence to back up some of these things that people want it to work for.
“Paediatric oncology grew out of research, we’ve always led with trials, particularly when it comes to the anticancer agents.
“Most of them have great effectiveness in the petri-dish, but it’s only when we put it into the real situation of incredibly complex children’s cancers that we see whether it really makes a difference or not.”
More evidence needed?
Is more evidence of the safety and efficacy of cannabis really needed?
In a recent blog post, Peter Reynolds, president of CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform, explains that the laboratory evidence for medicinal cannabis is strong, and the observational clinical evidence is also conclusive.
In fact, he says the real reason that NHS leaders are afraid of medicinal cannabis is because it is effective, safe and “is safer than virtually all the pills you can buy over-the-counter”, which threatens their status and financial interests.
As a result, doctors try to discredit medicinal cannabis, exaggerate its risks, and downplay its efficacy.
Summary
A recent survey conducted by MedCan found that up to one third of children receiving end-of-life care in the UK may be using cannabis to manage their symptoms.
The study highlights the need for cannabis to be made more widely available so any parents of unwell children are not forced to break the law in order to reduce the suffering of their child.
Advocates are calling for NHS doctors to recognise and address the use of cannabis in end-of-life care for children, while doctors like Dr. Bob Phillips believe that more high-quality evidence is needed on the safety and efficacy of cannabis-based products before they can be made easily accessible through the NHS.
What do you think?
Source: CannabisHealthNews
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As per the article, there is no need for more studies or trials. Zerenia Clinic confirmed they have World based studies performed correctly, they have offered this data to the UK NHS, but its not from the UK so its unacceptable! What a sad and corrupted world we live in.