Intros Hi

[Matt]

Hi all.
Im looking into MC and thought this community was the right place to come for advice and a bit of direction.
Like many people i used cannabis recreationaly in my younger years. As the kids, responsibilities, mortgage etc. Came along I stopped using for many years.
Over the last few years I have developed a few medical conditions, and general aches and pains. Then had a back injury, I often get sciatica and recently have been diagnosed with reynauds disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis in my elbow. I've also suffered from depression in the past. I've had many prescription drugs that help mask the pain but make me feel groggy, lethargic.
About a year ago I decided to try cannabis again. Since then I haven't suffered sciatica and the other inflammatory pains are manageable.
My problem is going to the local 'dealers', looking over my shoulder and feeling uneasy. I worry about being seen and as I have a decent job also worry about loosing it and the income it provides to support my family.
So after much thought I've decided to take the plunge and look into MC , mainly to improve my health and general wellbeing but also to be legal.
I'm in my early 50s and don't like the stress and anxiety that self medicating brings with it.
Sorry for the rambling intro, just thought a little background might help with the questions I'm about to ask.
As said earlier I'm looking for advice and direction.
I have read some of the posts on this forum and will continue to do so, however any advice about clinics, pharmacy, the process will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time in reading and look forward to replies and getting to know you all
Matt

 

[GrownHealth]

Welcome @Matt and your at the right place to get help and friendly advice as you find a solution and the legality is a massive thing for me being around the same age as yourself and this option is finally open to us and it has indeed lifted a lot of worry off my shoulders by going legal .

Between us here we'll help all we can to guide you through the steps to being prescribed

 

[joint_account]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to MedBud!

Thank you for sharing all of that, your story certainly sounds similar to many of the regulars around here so please be assured Medical Cannabis exists for people like us.

I'm sure you've probably read but in terms of applying, you simply you go to your chosen clinic and fill out the relevant contact forms/questionnaires for eligibility.

They'll reach out to arrange an initial appointment to go over your medical history (they'll need evidence of conditions and medications/treatments and your Summary of Care. - some clinics will be able to interface with your NHS records directly, others you will need to provide the relevant documents).

Once they're happy it goes to your 2nd appointment with the doctor where you discuss the correct treatment plan for your conditions.

From here it goes to MDT. This is a doctor's panel meeting to evaluate the prescribed medication is adequate for the patient. Usually it's a formality but any Psychosis and/or Bipolar history can complicate things.

From there, your medication goes to the pharmacy, you pay for it, it arrives.

So that's the process. So the next question is which clinic?

I personally break this into a few key questions.

If you're in need of something budget friendly you have Alternaleaf (£10pm), Curaleaf (£10pm), Medicann (free), CB1 Medical (£50pa), Mamedica® (£200 for Grow Access Project patients for life or £450 first year then free for everyone else).

Most clinics are patient led but a few are Doctors led, if you want a doctor to guide you then I think Curaleaf and CB1 are two clinics with varying degrees of doctor input.

If you want speedy turnarounds from ordering to recieving your script then you've for Cannabis Clinic Cardiff, Medicann and Integro. All 3 of them are lightning quick.

If you want elite medical service at any cost then CCC are probably the only real option here. Plenty of regulars are patients here if you wanted to know more about them. They're not cheap.

If you want a lot of options then CCC and Alternaleaf are probably the best options. CCC in particular promote multi-pharmacy usage to get the best price. No other clinics does this.

CB1, Cantourage, MaMedica and Curaleaf have the smaller pharmacy selections and Formularys from what I can recall but take that with a pinch of salt.

In my opinion I think there's 3 good options to choose from that stand out from the rest for different reasons.

CCC - patient led, real doctors appointments, freedom to order from different places. I'll let the others speak here.

Alternaleaf - huge formulary and you can use other pharmacies without friction unlike some other clinics. Their speed of service let's them down. Scripts taken about a week from request to delivery and communications often takes 2 days.

Medicann - smaller Formulary than the other 2 as they make it harder to order from elsewhere but they use IPS as the default pharmacy which is one of the best. They're free so you only pay for medication and delivery and that is usually a 24 hour service. They're also scriptless which means you can order when ever you like without needing a monthly script.

Everyone has got their own experiences to draw from but to me these 3 have USPs that the others don't that either make the cost worth it, or make the expensive competition seen unnecessary.

In terms of what's available from these pharmacies and what can be prescribed. We have Flower, Oils, Vape Carts and a poor selection of edibles. Hash is coming soon.

There's loads of variance ranging from £4pg to £15pg. Flower comes in 10g and 15g amounts and very rarely is seen in 5g.

Vape carts are between £49-100ml. Carts do come in 0.5ml, 1ml and 1.2ml.

I don't do edibles or oils so I'll let someone else comment on those if you're interested.

Hopefully that's given you a half decent idea as to what this is all like but if you have any questions I'll be happy to try and answer them.

 

[JR52]

Welcome mate
Just pick your clinic and we will help you choose the right flowers and vapes so you can save some money

 

[Matt]

Thanks for the replies all.
Some great info there, plenty for me to make the right choices and start my journey.
I'll continue to read the threads and look at making the first moves over the weekend, nightshift this week so I'm not much good for anything .
I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions over the coming days and weeks.
Thanks again.

 

[cornucopia]

hello and welcome, i am prescribed MC for back, nerve & sciatica problems. I have found some strains do nothing and some work faster and better than any pain killer i have tried.

 

[NuggetofGreen]

Hello and welcome to the club

 

[Dooby Doo]

Welcome @Matt

 

[stu]

Hi @Matt seems like we are the same age group and background. We’re all getting old and things don’t work like they used to. I have had sciatica so I know your pain. Legal MC is a godsend for me after 10 years of wandering in the wilderness of modern medical practice. All that’s left now is to find the right balance so I can keep a steady income and get relief from my symptoms.

One thing I have found is that taking a small dose of oil each night helps me to sleep so well it massively reduces the toll the other symptoms take and it is much easier to get through the day even when everything is flaring up