The UK CanCard - Protecting Medical Cannabis Patients
“Despite the fact that Cannabis medicines became legal in 2018, patients who are unable to afford a costly prescription are still stuck in limbo. Cancard provides the opportunity for police to exercise their discretion through the understanding that the patient in possession of cannabis is in fact medicating for their condition” (Carly Barton, CanCard Creator).
About the CanCard
The CanCard was introduced after the 2018 so-called cannabis reform did nothing for 1.5 million people using cannabis illegally for medical reasons.
CanCard is a validated indication to the British police, or any third party, that you are consuming cannabis for medical reasons.
Cancard is Backed by the Police
Martyn Underhill (Police Commissioner
“More than a million patients in the UK qualify for a private cannabis prescription for a range of conditions, but sadly many of them cannot afford this and so could face criminalisation if they are found in possession of what to them is a vital medicine.
The CanCard will provide them with assurance that their ill health will not lead to a criminal record, while it will also be a valuable tool to help frontline officers, saving them time by providing immediate verification of genuine medical patients and therefore giving them confidence to use their discretion.
I want to praise Carly for her dedication and the collaborative work she has done with senior officers to get this important initiative off the ground.”
Simon Kempton (Police Federation)
“I did not join the police to arrest people who are simply unwell and trying to manage their symptoms or pain. In fact I joined to help people in that position.
Initiatives such as Cancard are important because they give police officers vital information which they can use when they have to make decisions on the street.”
Jason Harwin
Deputy Chief Constable at Lincolnshire Police and National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Drugs.
“I’m very grateful for the work that’s been completed so far which helps the Police service identify those that should be accessing their prescribed medication.
This is a really live issue, where the Police service finds itself stuck in the middle of a situation where individuals should legitimately be accessing their prescribed medication, but, because of availability and cost they can’t and therefore to address their illness rely on having to use illicit cannabis. This can’t be acceptable and places the service in a position where we could be criminalising someone because of their illness.”
Rick Muir (Police Foundation)
“Cancard is a great innovation. For those using cannabis for medicinal purposes it should help take away some of the fear generated by potential interactions with the police.
For the police it provides a straight forward and validated basis for using their discretion in such cases.”
Arfon Jones (Police Commissioner)
Who is Eligible?
People suffering from the following medical conditions:
Cancer:
- Chemotherapy induced nausea
- Anxiety
- Cancer related appetite loss
- Depression
- Palliative care
Gastrointestinal:
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Irritable Bowel Disorder
Neurological:
- Autistic spectrum disorder
- Epilepsy
- Migraine
- Cluster headache
- Multiple sclerosis
- Neuropathic pain
- Functional Neurological Disorder
- Motor Neuron Disease
- Cerebral Palsy
Pain:
- Arthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Chronic Pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Migraine
- Cluster headache
- Neuropathic pain
- Palliative care
- EDN
Psychiatric:
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Agoraphobia
- ASD
- Depression
- Insomnia
- PTSD
- OCD
- Tourettes
How to Apply
You will need a mobile phone to hand and:
- Your passport or driver’s licence
- Your NHS number
- Your GP name, email address and practice
- If you choose this method of confirmation, you will also need your Summary Care Record
Important Info.
You must be 18 years old to apply for a card.
Your medical condition must be verified by your doctor or health professional.
If you don’t want your doctor knowing you are applying for a CanCard then simply demand a Summery Care Record from your GP.
It is quicker to supply your GP’s email address if you do not have a problems with your doctor knowing, and they can confirm your condition. Most GPs are very quick to do this.
A CanCard costs £30 for the first year and £19.99 for annual renewals. Your first application includes a £10 processing fee.
Verifying your ID: You do not need to hold a British passport or driving license – any will do.
The Cancard legal argument for exemption from prosecution for possession of cannabis is based on the idea that if you were able to afford to obtain a private script – you would be covered by law.
Unfortunately, you will be unable to apply if your condition isn’t yet covered. However, the list of Qualifying Conditions is increasing daily. We are keeping a close eye on what conditions are being prescribed for and will be adding them as they come up. Please check back to see if your condition has been added.
Please note that the law has not changed. However, following 12 months of conversations with police forces, there is a frustration around being able to identify legitimate patients so that they are able to use their discretion. Cancard is backed and co-designed by senior police and guidance will be issued by them to all forces in the UK to suggest that they should feel confident in using their discretion in cases of possession with a Cancard.
The card does, however, prove that you are legally entitled to a cannabis prescription and are only in contravention of the Drugs Act because you are unable to afford one. This is a mitigating factor for the CPS and one which means a simple possession case would be unlikely to make it to court. In the event that you do, the card comes with:
- A stop and search guide
- A helpline for legal advice
- Resources for your solicitor
- An outline of a legal framework for defence
- An anonymised self reporting tool that will help to build a picture of Police involvement for the upcoming legal review
“Unfortunately there are hundreds of individuals in the UK who need medical cannabis to continue to live without pain and enable them to lead a normal life. The cost of a private prescription for medical cannabis can be up to £3,000 a month. This is a cost which is impossible to sustain yet these individuals are increasing their debts and using their savings just to live a pain free life and prevent prosecution. This plan would give people a safe and secure way of accessing medicinal cannabis whilst the system would be strictly regulated and have robust safeguards.”
Jason Reed (Law Enforcement Action Partnership)
“Movements like CanCard are vitally important to ensure sensible reforms which will not only benefit the patient but also society as a whole.
We must follow examples from across the globe and start ensuing that those who need help receive it. LEAP UK join together with MPs, scientists, doctors and academics in welcoming all sensible – and evidence-based reforms, and this is why we welcome CanCard.”
CanCard is Supported by MPs
MP Jeff Smith (Labour)
“For too long, patients who can’t afford a legitimate private medical cannabis prescription have been in an impossible position. We need medical cannabis to be available for people who need it on the NHS, but until then, the CanCard is an important initiative. It will help patients and police officers alike, reducing worry for those who are unwell, and stopping police time being wasted on arrests which aren’t in the public interest.”
MP Crispin (Conservative Party)
“Despite the law change in November 2018 very few of the estimated 1.4 million people in the UK who consume cannabis for medical reasons have a prescription and thus face prosecution for treating their illness. This is a wretched situation both for patients who constantly fear a knock on the door from the police and for the police themselves who are in the unenviable position of having to arrest the sick. The CanCard initiative is a welcome step forward that provides necessary immediate relief and I look forward to even further progress to ensure this medicine is legally available to all who need it.”
Baroness Molly Meacher – House of Lords
“More than a million patients will at last be free from the fear of arrest for taking their cannabis medicine to relieve their pain or suffering, thanks to the Cancard.”
About Growing..
If you decide to grow your own medicine, please be aware that in places abroad where it is legal to grow for medicinal purposes, people are usually allowed to grow six plants.
In relation to growing cannabis, CanCard States: We are focusing on simple possession while we are in the process of working in the background on the amnesty project. This may be something we fold in, as our work with the police and the CPS continues.
We understand that supply is safer and can be more personalised if the option for home growing were open to patients, and after all, this is how this project began. We will be updating everyone as discussions around this turn into workable solutions later in the year.
However, if you are caught cultivating cannabis – Cancard will provide key information to officers at the scene and the CPS upon interview, this should go a way to demonstrate intent, and question if it is in the publics best interest to pursue a charge..
Twenty21 Project
If you meet the CanCard criteria then you may qualify to take part in the Twenty21 study and be issued with a private prescription. To get further information on how that works you can visit:
Rachael (Medical Cannabis Patient)
Endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, IBS, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, hypertension, anxiety, depression, osteoarthritis of cervical spine, asthma.
“I had to stop taking opioids as they were no longer working for the pain. I was having awful side effects. I could not function, I felt like I was a zombie. I could not think, talk, or motivate myself. I also had weight gain from a size 6-8 all my life, becoming a size 14-16.
I couldn’t cope mentally or emotionally with the weight gain, so physically the pain became worse and it became harder to walk and sleep with carrying the extra weight too. I know cannabis helped me years ago, but I was arrest and now I am too scared to get it. I have so much to lose; my home, my son.
I was accepted by a private medical cannabis clinic but can not afford the prices so I am stuck – struggling and bed ridden most days. I am missing out on life, family, and being a proper mum. I feel like a failure, living with the pain and knowing what could improve my life so much, but I can’t do anything about it because of the fear.”
Growing cannabis successfully in Britain involves growing plants in a grow tent or a grow box, and it means paying attention to their needs (just like tomatoes). These factors, however, are not difficult to overcome (achieve) – as shown by the success of the U.K’s illegal cannabis market. The most common mistakes that beginners often make are:
1. Overfeeding and Overwatering: Cannabis plants need very little watering, and no feeding during the seedling stage. Yellowing leaves, seedlings that shrivel, or fail to thrive, are all signs of over-tending – and this alters the plant’s ability to grow – so it is best to leave the seed to just grow without interference for at least ten days.
2. Intense (too strong) Lighting Conditions: A common beginner’s mistake is using lighting that is too strong, while also failing to provide the plants with adequate ventilation. The result is excess heat – an issue that often happens with HID lights, and this can result in a poor harvest. The amount of grow lights needed are dictated by the amount of cannabis being grown.
3. As with any plant that you are trying to obtain the best from (that winner at the vegetable show..), you will learn from experience. The abundance and quality of the harvest can be manipulated via water, nutrients, lighting, and adequate ventilation, and while there is plenty of advice on the internet and elsewhere, at the end of the day it is your growing conditions that will determine the outcomes. As such, what works best for your growing conditions will become clear as you gain experience.
4. You should also buy the best quality equipment that you can afford.
Resources for Growing Medical Cannabis
To download an e-book, just right-click, and choose ‘save link as’ and the PDF E-book will download to your computer. All these downloadable E-books have been scanned to assure there are no issues when downloading them.
How to Grow
1. This beginner’s guide to growing cannabis at home is comprehensive, clear and detailed.
2. Growing cannabis in a cupboard or closet – a particular good way of growing in places where cannabis is still illegal (e.g. the UK).
3. A book for the ‘Everyday Closet Farmer.’ Introductory guide to growing cannabis in a confined space.
4.Building an Indoor Cannabis Grow for Autoflowers (No Smell)
Seed: Banks/Info
1. Justcannabisseed.com is an extremely informative website that has a very extensive library of e-books available to download free, and extremely cheap cannabis seeds.
2. The Big Book of Buds: Cannabis varieties from the world’s greatest seed breeders.
3. Seedsman: Great seedbank – gives detailed descriptions of their seeds, including their top ten Indica strains. Also articles, how-to posts, and much more. They also provide a search tool that enables people to find seeds for their specific health need, which you can access HERE.
A cancer patient’s experience in growing cannabis to make her own medicine – a must watch!
Websites
1. Grow Easy: Very informative, comprehensive website that covers everything about growing cannabis at home. They state: ‘If you want to start growing cannabis indoors for the first time, or if you’re a pro grower and want to improve your current cannabis growing skill, this website is for you.’
SeedFinder
SeedFinder.eu is NOT a shop (lists 20,004 strains). The website states that it ‘collects and standardizes information about thousands of cannabis varieties. We offer an interface for cannabis breeders, seedbanks, cultivation and hemp-forums, communities, growers, and cannabis-enthusiasts all around the world. With the help of our SeedFinder-System – especially made for this purposes – we are able to collect all important information about individual strains in a compact and searchable way. We enable you to find the tips and tricks for cultivation and growth who are scattered all around the web or to find pictures, profiles, and opinions. Help us to expand and advance the single strain-descriptions with your knowledge.’
Tommy Chong’s Medical Cannabis Garden
Resources for Making Cannabis Medicine
Read All About It
Producing the Highest Quality Cannabis Oil by Rick Simpson
Decarboxylation of Cannabis Oil
Dosage Information for Cannabis Oil
Documentaries/Video Clips
The following videos show step-by-step instructions of how to make high-grade cannabis oil.
The Ultimate Guide to Making Cannabis Oil
How to Make Rick Simpson Oil (RSO)
How to Make Homemade Cannabis MCT Oil
How to Make Cannabis Oil at Home in 2021
Further Information
1. E-Book: The Role of Cannabis and Cannabinoids in Pain Management. A comprehensive and scholarly overlook at how cannabis treats pain.
2. Whose Oil and Who Can You Trust? (Rick Simpson)
Note: Hemp = Cannabis in this video (not actual hemp). Also, this video was made in 2010, so there are now standards in place among the medical cannabis community who grow their own medicine. However, the essential message of this video holds true – it is best to learn how to make your own medicine.
Two for the price of one! A highly effective way of taking medical cannabis that leaves a residue that is a secondary medicine (RSO) that can be ingested.
