Lukas Kelly, a 61-year old retired UK serving police officer living in London, shares his journey with medical cannabis, stating it has ‘increased my quality of life’ following a traumatic incident.
Lukas Kelly, a retired British police officer living in London, was resuscitated nine times and left with lasting brain trauma after a catastrophic mountain bike crash. He says legal medical cannabis has ‘increased’ his quality of life after NHS treatments failed to help.
The 61-year-old, who spent over a month in a coma and lost his spleen due to internal organ damage, is now speaking out to challenge the stigma still surrounding cannabis-based medicine in the UK.
“I was in intensive care for five months and in a coma for over a month. I was resuscitated nine times,” Lukas shares.
“My ribcage was smashed up, which resulted in my ribs actually piercing several organs, two collapsed lungs, and my spleen was in such bad shape it had to be removed. This all heavily compromised my immune system, and I developed double pneumonia in the hospital.”
Recovery involved a relentless regime of high-strength painkillers and medications, but for Lukas, the side effects were unbearable.
“The heavy pharmaceuticals that I was given in the hospital simply did not help me, they turned me inside out, and the side effects just weren’t worth the hassle. Some of the other drugs I tried were highly addictive, and I did not like how they made me feel.”
Lukas using medical cannabis to manage his conditions
Lukas only discovered medical cannabis, a legal treatment option in the UK since 2018, after discussing options with medical professionals.
“It was suggested to me through various different routes, including professionals I had seen, that cannabis might be something that could help,” he explains.
But with no NHS access due to eligibility restrictions, Lukas turned to the private sector.
“I was told it wouldn’t be available through the NHS unless I had a condition like MS. That is what made me look into private options.”
He is now a legal medical cannabis patient with Releaf, using cannabis flower to help manage his conditions.
“It doesn’t space me out and has given me an option that actually works without all the horrible side effects of the medication I was on before,” Lukas explains. “It keeps me calm, and I don’t tend to suffer from the same level of anxiety that I used to.”
“It just makes things easier to deal with, and has increased my quality of life far more than I was expecting, because I’m in a more relaxed state of mind.”
The benefits have extended beyond mental health:
“When I medicate, my body relaxes. When everything is relaxed, it stops me from constantly using other muscles to try and compensate, and that has a knock-on effect in terms of pain.”
Now, Lukas is speaking publicly to reduce stigma and encourage more open conversations about medical cannabis.
“It’s not about getting high, or being lazy, for me, and so many others, it’s about finding relief and improving our quality of life.”
The post Ex Police Officer Ditches ‘Highly Addictive Prescription Drugs for Medical Cannabis Following Catastrophic Accident appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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