MPs join medical marijuana protest outside Parliament, with activists smoking joints

MPs and activists gathered outside Parliament for a “cannabis tea party” demanding the legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes.

Organised by the United Patients Alliance, a group that hopes to legalise the drug for those suffering from chronic conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS), the Labour MPs Paul Flynn and Tonia Antoniazzi appeared alongside the Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran.

Sitting at the head of table with cakes and scones containing cannabis, Mr Flynn, who has introduced a private members’ bill on the issue in the Commons, accused the Government of having an “evidence-free” approach to the criminalisation of cannabis.

Despite the possession of cannabis currently carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years, activists smoked joints at the tea party just yards away from the House of Commons.

Mr Flynn added: “It’s political cowardice. They are afraid of being accused to going to pot. I’m afraid governments get brownie points for appearing to act tough.”

Clark French, a founder of United Patients Alliance, who was diagnosed with MS in 2010 during the final year of his degree at Reading University, said cannabis improves his symptoms of chronic pain, including spasms, fatigue, migraines and tremors.

“Cannabis helps me to have a much better quality of life than I get on the medications my doctor can prescribe me,” he said. “I think it is ridiculous that I can legally take opioids and chemotherapy based treatments which could kill me, but am criminalised for consuming cannabis despite the support of my neurologist, GP, MS nurse and wider health care team.

“The UK Government needs to act on the evidence which shows that cannabis has medicinal value and change the law immediately.”

Ms Moran, who told journalists gathered on College Green that one of her best friends had died of MS and detailed the pain they suffered as a result. She added: “IF there was anything that we can do to help them then I think this is a good thing”.

She said that while she did indulge in some drugs for recreational purposes while at university she no longer did, insisting she would not be consuming any of the cakes on sale at the event.

“I don’t any more, I’m a grown up now, but for god’s sake,” she said. “I’ve never run in a wheat field, that I can say.”

Another activist Alex Fraser, a 26-year-old who has Crohn’s disease since he was 19, said that he also used the drug to relieve his symptoms. “I have tried not smoking, and my symptoms always increase dramatically,” he said.

“My pain is worsened and I often can’t eat or sleep without severe discomfort,” he added. “I also have taken prescription meds, and have tried not taking those, and the difference is minimal. I can safely say that cannabis is the most effective treatment for my Chron’s disease that I’ve tried.

“I hope that with the help of the United Patients Alliance I can have safe, legal access to it as soon as possible.”

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I think that it will take a big change in American Federal Law before the UK (USA's poodle) develops a sensible policy towards cannabis and allows medical and recreational use of the plant.

Currently the USA Federal Law classifies cannabis as a schedule one narcotic (the same as heroin), and claims that it has no medicinal use at all.

What a disgrace!.76

What's the story with United Patients Alliance? I've never heard of them before

Hundred Gram Oz said:

What's the story with United Patients Alliance? I've never heard of them before

Click to expand...

So the UPA was started in late 2013/early 2014 by a guy called Clark French. A few years earlier he'd been diagnosed with MS during his time at Reading Uni where he was studying ancient history. His mum and step-dad both had MS and his step-dad had treated his with cannabis so when opioids didn't improve Clark's quality of life he knew what to try instead. Initially he joined the UKCSC and NormlUK the more recreational focussed campaigns.

He used his savings and went to Cali for a few months and when he came back he'd decided that if you were going to persuade Britain on cannabis it would be on medical first, because the UK recreational campaigns had been running in some form since the 1970's.

Weirdly he wasn't the first UK MS patient to have that idea, in the 90's Liz Brice had run a small and very effective group the ACT (Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics) a UK chapter of an American organisation of the same name who had first successfully pushed for medical use of cannabis for AIDS patients in the 80's.
Her campaign resulted in the creation of Sativex in 2001 a drug with extremely limited NHS availability not that she could have known that's where it would be stuck for so long. Feeling she had won and with her health deteriorating from MS she wound up the ACT, donated their papers to the Wellcome Library for posterity and died in 2011 at the age of 54.

When the UPA moved from mainly holding public talks (Patients Perspectives) to lobbying MPs and Lords in 2015 her groundwork years before meant that we got our foot in the door of parliament rather quicker, 1 year rather than 6. The UPA logo was on the All Party Parliamentary Report into Medical Cannabis and the Lib Dems launched their adoption of medical cannabis into their manifesto with two experts Dr David Nutt (my teenage hero after he was sacked by new labour) and Jonathan Liebling UPA Political Director a depression patient and former psychiatric nurse who had his life and his house torn apart twice for growing cannabis.

A lot of UPA patrons and supporters were influenced by Liz Brice (Including Dr. Nutt and Paul Flynn MP) so the UPA has sort of adopted her legacy, her family have come and spoken at our events which is really cool.

Thanks for sharing.

The UK should follow Canada's lead.

At least we still have the Queen on some of our money.

USA is Mexico North in my view and not a good model for reform.

I agree, it'd be better if we could do that, I feel if the british left hadn't gone centre with new labour, if the centre left hadn't gone right by forming a coalition with the right wing and if the conservative party hadn't been dragged much further right to appeal to the UKIPs then maybe we could follow Canada, but sadly the UK probably has more in common with the USA than Canada right now. I would support getting rid of the queen honestly but that's a separate political position.

The queen needs to retire but we need a monarchy or we'd have a govt that didn't need anyone to OK the laws they pass. A strong head to wear the crown who will say no, is what we need, not a move to a republic.