Dad fighting a brain tumor 'forced to break the law or to die' to obtain cannabis oil

A father struggling with a brain tumor says that he was forced to break the law or die – by taking cannabis oil that he thought could prolong his life.

Philip James, 33, intends to grow the drug to fight the epileptic seizures he suffers.

He explained to North Wales Live that he daily used about 5 ml of cannabis oil containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive substance, for medicinal purposes.

James, of Flintshire, was diagnosed with a third-year tumor at the end of 2015.

At first he started taking a weaker product called CBD Indica, which is rich in Cannabidiol cannabis compound (CBD) but does not contain THC, supplemented by a strict diet and radiation therapy.

He had had seizures every six to eight weeks.

Mr. James, who is married to Nicola and has a six-month-old daughter named Phoebe Elizabeth, also underwent six clear brain scans, which means that there was only a trace of her tumor – which, according to him, was due to the CBD.

But the tumor came back in February of this year and Mr. James started chemotherapy.

This, he says, has pushed him to use the stronger cannabis oil containing THC, which, in his opinion, will be more effective.

"Before the cancer recurrence, I was vaping.When he came back, I switched to oil because I needed a higher dose." Chemotherapy kills the cells girls and cannabis attack the cancer stem cells. "

The UK government legalized unlicensed cannabis for medicinal purposes if it had been prescribed by a specialist consultant on November 1st.

However, many complaints were filed, it was only made available through a private consultation – and even in this case, the government kept only little or no drug stocks, which makes it virtually unavailable. Under the new law, it can not be prescribed by a general practitioner.

Mr. James told North Wales Live: "The tragedy is that only a small number of people were prescribed because they were in private health care, which is not the case with the NHS.

"If you are rich, you can get the prescription, but not the cannabis.

"Oil is expensive and if you buy in the criminal market, you do not know what it contains, so I thought I would grow it, and if I grew it, I would know exactly what it contains. "

"If all goes well, taking a higher dose of oil will ensure against convulsions – which, I think, have come back partly because of chemotherapy.

"The government forces me to break the law or to die."

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs confirmed that until the end of March this year, a single unlicensed medical cannabis order had been issued in the English secondary care system, namely private.

Trials have already shown that the drug helps prevent seizures and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

A new drug, Epidiolex, which contains THC, has been distributed 94 times between November 2018 and January 2019 to people with epilepsy in England – none for people with cancer.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh government confirmed that no dose of unlicensed medicinal cannabis had been issued in Wales.

Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, who has met with James on several occasions campaigning for a change in the law, has supported his case.

He said, "My thoughts are with Phil James and countless other people like him who are being criminalized unnecessarily.

"The legal situation regarding medicinal cannabis has been decided as a matter of political expediency, in order to avoid a public relations disaster caused by the heartbreaking cases of several children, like Billy Caldwell, chronic patient. , who needs cannabis oil to escape life – very menacing.

"It is unfair and cruel that people living with cannabis and cancer, who have multiple sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, are at risk of being sued.

"The answer to this question is simple: cannabis should be regulated and people should be able to buy it over-the-counter in pharmacies and stores, or grow a limited amount for their own use.

"It goes without saying that cannabis oil intended to help people like Phil James should be freely available so that they can help them when needed."