The UK’s first specialist medical cannabis clinic is now open in Greater Manchester and companies like GreenStar Biosciences Corp. (CSE: GSTR) stay ahead of the competition thanks to new cultivation technologies
A new private clinic in Greater Manchester has become the UK’s first specialist medicinal cannabis centre. Patients at The Beeches, in Cheadle, will pay £200 for appointments with doctors and between £600 and £700 a month for a prescription.
Decisions to prescribe cannabis will be taken on a case-by-case basis, and will only be considered when staff are satisfied that licensed products cannot treat the condition.
The director of The Medical Cannabis Clinics, which runs The Beeches, is Prof Mike Barnes, who last year helped secure the first medicinal cannabis licence for epilepsy sufferer Alfie Dingley.
The decisions by medics should be on a case-by-case basis. Also, only when the patient has an unmet special clinical need. On the other hand, that is not possible to substitute by licensed products. The clinical director at The Beeches private health center Professor Mike Barnes, helped to secure the first medicinal cannabis license. This all was for young epilepsy sufferer Alfie Dingley.
What do doctors say?
Prof Barnes said: “Patients suffering from chronic pain and other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions have been crying out for this kind of life-changing treatment. This clinic will represent a lifeline to those who have found other treatments ineffective. This also brings the UK into line with other countries. The hope is that over time patients all around the country will have access to the relief that they need. Patients will pay about £200 to see a doctor and then £600 to £700 a month for a private prescription.
What is the influence?
Bosses at the clinic say it will provide a lifeline to experiencing chronic pain. With only four patients successfully accessing such treatment via the NHS despite the change in law. Dr David McDowell prescribed medicinal cannabis to Open University student Forzana Nasir, 32, from south London. Ms Nasir suffers from the genetic condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It leaves her in severe pain and suffering from nausea and vomiting.
GreenStar Biosciences makes waves in the US
GreenStar Biosciences Corp. (CSE: GSTR) is an investment company that specializes in identifying local cannabis competitors. GreenStar works in every aspect of the product life cycle.
Together with the joint venture with Progressive Herbs Inc. called Capri, the company has licenced access to their proprietary cultivation technology. This is the reason why company produces cannabis with the highest cannabinoid levels in the market at very low costs. It is also grown faster than any other harvest. The plants were grown in Cowlitz (another partner of GreenStar) warehouse in Washington State and tested by an independent laboratory confirming its quality and cultivation advantages.
The harvest time takes less time. The tested plants were grown in about 72 days, which allows up to five harvests per year. Other producers can execute three to four harvests per year.
GreenStar is an exclusive holder of the licence to use Capri’s cultivation technology but looking at its success, they will soon start selling the license to other producers, securing a new revenue stream.
Does marijuana help?
Since using medical cannabis she has gone from taking 13 different medications a day to three. Having access to this medicine allows me to ease my chronic pain which turns an unbearable day into a manageable day. It has been life-changing for me. I was almost bedbound before this and now I have a much greater quality of life.
“It is so important that other patients in the UK who are suffering can have the same opportunity. This clinic opening is a significant step forward for healthcare in this country.”
“It’s a private clinic that offers patients a variety of treatment programs with a single active ingredient. They are: the alkaloid cannabinoid, contained in a specially cultivated medical hemp. Patients with severe illnesses have been asking national health authorities to recognize such treatment. However, the laws remained repressive and it is very difficult to reverse negative stereotypes.
How does it work?
Barnes makes it clear that the clinic will not be a legal cover for recreational marijuana sales. An initial referral can only come from a general practitioner at the clinic or inpatient clinic: “No one will get a referral for an appointment without a reason. The complaint “Oh, my back hurts” is not a reason to prescribe hash oil or cannabis capsules. We will be very strict in maintaining the reputation of a serious institution where marijuana serves as a medication for appropriate medical reasons. It’s not “prescription dope” – like other drugs, cannabis only works when its benefits take precedence over side effects.
