Civil Disobedience - Grow Your Own Medicine!
WARNING: Making the decision to grow cannabis in the UK, even if growing purely for medicinal reasons, comes with significant legal risks that should not be taken lightly. Growing and consuming cannabis in ANY form is illegal – so be aware that you may well face legal proceedings if caught growing or consuming cannabis for ANY reason.
Since 2018, medical cannabis has lawfully been available on the UK’s National Health System, ‘yet accessing NHS medical cannabis prescriptions is still difficult [and in reality, impossible]. There are around 2,500 patients being prescribed cannabis in the UK. However, all are private prescriptions, with only three prescriptions being made available on the NHS’ (LINK). In the meantime, the UK is world’s largest exporter of medical cannabis – and it has been since 2017. So, let’s be clear: big business and its investors (including several prominent politicians) are reaping billions of pounds in profit from cannabis – so much so that in 2021 the ‘success’ of Britain’s main exporter (GW Pharmaceutical) was awarded by the Queen for ‘enterprise in renovation’ – while British citizens are denied access to this potent medicine. Such hypocrisy beggars belief!
Although the UK government continues to insist that cannabis is a dangerous drug and must therefore remain on the dangerous drugs list (cat. B – a category that includes real killers), its use has a 100% safety record re death/overdose that spans thousands of years – even in places where cannabis use has been legalised for recreational use (e.g. Canada, many U.S. states, Portugal, Spain, etc). Reports from these places show that cannabis use in any form is neither dangerous or addictive. There are no reports telling of a rise in mental health issues among young people, no increase in traffic incidents, and no signs of ‘Reefer Madness!’ Furthermore, reports of medical outcomes have been overwhelmingly positive, along with a fall in cannabis use among younger people – an outcome that is generally believed to be associated with cannabis no longer being viewed as rebellious due to its legality. And yet, the British authorities continue telling the British people that cannabis is dangerous and addictive.
A brief examination of the establishment (timeline) of Britain’s medical cannabis industry and its licensing under the Home Office clearly demonstrates that our politicians have known that cannabis is medicine for a very long time.
1998: While publicly demonising cannabis as a dangerous and addictive drug, while rating their doomed ‘war on drugs,’ the British government was simultaneously and secretively granting special licenses that enabled GW Pharmaceuticals, a newly established firm, to study cannabis as potential medicine.
This was just SIX years after the discovery of our endocannabinoid system – the largest system in the human body and, most importantly, one that is in charge of all the rest. The receptors of this system can be found throughout our bodies, within the skin, brain, and all major organs, for example, which is why cannabis is able to bring relief and healing to so many different and often complex health issues. All of this had been widely reported in medical journals, which is why the Home Office (under the Blair administration), sanctioned the special licenses.
The public, of course, new nothing. The discovery of the endocannabinoid system remained unknown until very recently, and even today, some 30 years since later, many people are still unaware they have one!
Deceiving a nation?
2003: Despite only being licensed to research cannabis, GW Pharmaceuticals begins to commercialise and export its products illegally (see 2013). It is illegal because they have not been licensed to export cannabis, and as stated in a report published by the House of Lords, ‘Cannabis as a “Schedule 1” drug, cannot be used at all in medicine, except for research under special Home Office licence.’
2010 Theresa May serves as Home Secretary. Sativex is approved. Despite being made entirely from the cannabis plant, the UK government insists it is not cannabis.
2011-2016 – GWP are awarded 41 cannabinoid patents and licenses during this period, including five for cancer treatments (some alongside chemotherapy). According to the patent register, these are the only patents they hold. All, except two, were applied for during May’s term as Home Secretary.
2013: Mrs May, Britain’s Home Secretary retrospectively legalised GW’s licence. GWP, who had been exporting medical cannabis abroad since 2003, were not licensed to export their goods, and so were acting illegally. Mrs. May, therefore, backdated their license. This means that GWP, unlike any other British person or firm, will not face any criminal charges for illegally growing and selling cannabis on a massive scale for more than ten years. If it were you or me, we would be charged as dealers and imprisoned for a very long time.
The ONLY cannabis medicines (made solely with cannabis plant material) available via the NHS are those that have been licensed – so GWP’s Sativex and Epidiolex.
A wider range of cannabis products, including forms of RSO, are available via private clinics – so essentially only for people who can afford to pay.
2016 – Theresa May becomes Prime Minister.
May is married to financial investor Phillip May – his firm owns a 22 percent share in the world’s largest producer of cannabis, GW Pharmaceuticals.
2017 – Victoria Atkins is appointed by May as Parliamentary Under Secretary – despite having almost no government experience – and the PM’s chief drug advisor. It was widely believed that Atkins was chosen because she and May shared the same anti-cannabis views and strongly opposed any changes in cannabis law. However, it was later revealed that May isn’t the only politician who gains financially from cannabis remaining illegal.
Atkins’ husband owns British Sugar – The company that grows acres of cannabis for GWP.
11 June 2018 – Border guards seize cannabis medication from a child at the airport – and despite this having happened many times before, the press are ‘alerted’ to the story, thus raising public sympathy. The Home Office returns the medication. As such, Billy’s case may have been just the headline grabber the government needed to put legislation allowing the consumption of cannabis in the UK in place.
The more cynical, including me, might say that the government’s decision to confiscate the cannabis was calculated, callous, and used as an opportunity to gain public sympathy towards medical cannabis through the plight of these children. It was purely designed to bring about a change in the law that would enable them to profit financially cannabis while keeping cannabis illegal for everyone else (except those with the health conditions GWP’s cannabis products could ‘treat’).
16 June 2018 – The Home Office starts to make exceptions for children who need cannabis treatments to treat epilepsy
11 June 2018 – Border guards seize cannabis medication from a child at the airport – and despite this having happened before, the press are ‘alerted’ to the story, thus raising public sympathy. The Home Office returns the medication.
Billy’s case may have been just the headline grabber the government needed to put legislation allowing the consumption of cannabis in the UK in place. The more cynical, including me, might say that the government’s decision to confiscate the cannabis was calculated, callous, and used as an opportunity to gain public sympathy towards medical cannabis through the plight of these children. It was purely designed to bring about a change in the law that would enable them to profit financially cannabis while keeping cannabis illegal for everyone else (except those with the health conditions GWP’s cannabis products could ‘treat’).
16 June 2018 – The Home Office starts to make exceptions for children who need cannabis treatments to treat epilepsy
25 June 2018 – SO 14 DAYS AFTER THE MEDIA PUBLISHED THE STORIES RE CHILDREN WITH RARE FORMS OF EPILEPSY
GW Pharmaceutical announces the approval (licensing) of Epidiolex, a CBD-only medication that treats EXACTLY THE SAME RARE FORMS of childhood epilepsy as the children that had their medicine confiscated by UK border control. What incredible timing!
Epidiolex is also under review by a European body, which will allow GWP to market the CBD-only wellness product abroad as medicine. Meanwhile, May’s government tells the British public it is considering whether to make medical cannabis legal in the UK, thus raising the hopes of the huge community of people using medical cannabis illegally.
2019 – GW Pharmaceuticals cannabis medication, Sativex, is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), despite it being derived from cannabis that includes THC (1-1 THC/CBD ratio).
2020 – GW Pharmaceutical products are being exported worldwide in massive quantities – so much so that Britain continues to be the world’s biggest exporter of cannabis products for the medical cannabis market abroad. Despite this, only a very tiny amount of people have been able to legally access cannabis medicines in the UK since the so-called 2018 medical cannabis ‘reform.’
Resources to Grow Your Own Medicine
GWP were granted FIVE licenses to study cancer/cannabis when Theresa May was Home Secretary. More recently, the firm conducted a small clinical trial that examined Sativex (not RSO) and brain cannabis. The study (2015), which ignored scientific evidence strongly suggesting THC as being the main cancer ‘killer,’ was a ‘success’ in that it lengthened patients lives, but this was in months rather than years.
Still, it is Sativex |(rather than RSO), that is currently the focus of current clinical trials. Taking place in Southampton General and Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital, the trial is studying the effects on GW’s Sativex, rather than RSO. The question is why when ALL scientific (and anecdotal) evidence shows that it is THC-rich forms of cannabis oils (RSO) that are effective against cancer? It doesn’t take much to guess – money.
Resources for Growing and Making 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.
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.
How to Grow
1. This beginner’s guide to growing cannabis at home is comprehensive, clear and detailed.
Obtaining Seeds
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.
Informative 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.’
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).
4.Building an Indoor Cannabis Grow for Autoflowers (No Smell).
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.
3. 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.’
