Medicinal cannabis 'impossible to do properly' prompts woman to source supply
through her church By Sebastian Neuweiler 14 th April 2019 ABC News
At 89 years old, a suicidal Olive Wraight
walked into her church in Bunbury, south of
Perth, and asked her congregation a
compromising question: "I need medicinal
cannabis. Can anyone help me?"
She had heard whispers that some of the
congregation had used medicinal cannabis for
pain, and it had greatly improved their quality
of life.
Ms Wraight had been treating her worsening
chronic pain with an ever increasing cocktail
of pharmaceutical drugs, including opioids,
for 15 years.
But five months ago, after the sermon,
someone put her in touch with a supplier.
Her pharmaceutical pain relief was replaced
with cannabis oil, and more recently cannabis
pills, of which she takes two daily.
"Within two days I was feeling the difference
between that and my other medications," she
said.
"By the end of the week I was sold on it. I
have never felt this good in years."
An 'impossible' mission
In theory there are two legal avenues Ms
Wraight could pursue to obtain medicinal
cannabis.
It’s not something Ms Wraight thought she
would have to resort to.
For more than a year, she tried accessing
medicinal cannabis through legal channels,
with no luck.
She's one of an estimated 100,000 people who
are using 'home grown' cannabis products to
treat medical problems.
"The base of my skull to the end of my spine
is totally compromised with fractures,
collapsed discs and herniated discs," she said.
"I know pain. I have lived in pain constantly.
"I was about to give up my life because I
simply could not continue to live the way I
was."
One option is to find a doctor who is an
authorised prescriber (AP) of a specific
cannabis medicine.
To become an AP, however, a medical
practitioner must complete a rigorous
application process.
It includes getting approval from the
Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA),
obtaining endorsement from an ethics
committee, and checking for additional state
or territory requirements.
According to the TGA there were 57
authorised prescribers across Australia as of
March 31 st 2019
But privacy laws prevent patients from being
able to search for an AP.
A TGA spokeswoman said the association
would not disclose how many APs were
active in Western Australia.
The second pathway is to find a GP willing to
make an application for Commonwealth and
state approval, under the Special Access
Scheme B, in an online application.