Wales Health Services Now Offers Prescription Cannabis-Based Drug for MS

The NHS of Wales in the UK has just become the first NHS in the UK to fund cannabis-based medicine for people with multiple sclerosis.

While not quite opening the door fully to cannabis-based medicine, the Wales NHS is now prescribing Sativex (an oral spray derived from the marijuana plant) as treatment for those with muscle spasms who have not responded well to more traditional medicine.

On a personal note, I hope they also begin to consider Sativex as a first-stop treatment for MS. I am happy that it is being offered, but why force people to go through the gamut of chemicals if not needed? I’m not saying to abolish the other forms of medication; it’s possible that Sativex will not work for some and they will need the other stuff. It just sounds like they are only offering Sativex once the other meds have been tried and failed to work.

So far, this news has been met with strong support by the MS community in Wales:

Tony Wiggins, chairman of the Cardiff and Vale MS Society, has trialled Sativex and called it a “tremendous step forward. It’s good for spasms and other effects of MS – and it does work. And if a treatment works then it should be made available.”

Wales Health Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Following the appraisal of Sativex by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, I am pleased to announce we will be making the medicine available on the Welsh NHS to those who need it. I hope this decision will help ease the suffering of some of those who have to live with the reality of MS everyday.”

Director of service development at the Multiple Sclerosis Trust, Amy Bowen, said: “We are extremely pleased that people with MS in Wales will finally have better access to Sativex. As a charity we have campaigned over a long period for Sativex to be widely available because of the significant impact that MS spasticity can have on daily activities. We just hope that this recommendation will now lead to Sativex being more easily accessible in the rest of the UK.”

The times, they are a-changing. Kudos to you, Wales. This is a great step toward a truly free cannabis society.