Sufferer pleads for medical marijuana

A Hamilton student who lives with constant pain from a long-term illness says it’s time medical marijuana was made available.

A 2016 poll from market research company UMR showed over three-quarters of the people surveyed agreed that patients in New Zealand should have affordable legal access to medical marijuana.

“There’s people with epilepsy and similar conditions that could be improved with medical marijuana and not with other toxic pills with lots of other side effects,” said the 20-year-old Hamilton student with rheumatoid arthritis, who declined to be named.

“It’s always like, do the side effects outweigh the positives that it gives you?”

She was diagnosed just over two years ago, at the age of 18.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term disease causing chronic inflammation, which even young children can develop.

Every day she has to deal with constant pain, a list of medications, more questions than answers about her illness and a never ending list of side effects.

“They all have side effects.”

“I take eight medications a day at the moment, plus extra para-codeine for the pain. I don’t have a problem with remembering ’cause it’s like, oh I’m sore”.

“It’s a constant reminder. I’m not just going to forget I have arthritis, ever.”

Research shows that marijuana can help with chronic pain, inflammation, nausea, anxiety, eating disorders and so much more.

Yet medical marijuana is still not an easily accessible option to help relieve pain for sick people in New Zealand.

Labour leader Andrew Little supports change, confirming that the party would pass a law allowing access to medical marijuana “pretty quickly” after taking office, according to stuff.co.nz.

“Put yourself in other people’s shoes. You might have a child that is affected by something like this, or your best friend,” the student said.