“A Moment of Hope”: Patients Bring ‘Historical’ Medical Cannabis Event to London

The international patient-led organisation We, The Patients, brought its educational event series to London for the first time on Friday 7 November, in partnership with PatientsCann UK, to reshape the conversation around medical cannabis.

The one-day event was held at the Charterhouse, a historic venue dating back to Medieval times, which was an important site during the turbulent Tudor period before becoming a pioneering charity in 1611. 

On Friday, for the first time in its 650 years of history, patients were permitted to medicate and vape medical cannabis inside the premises. 

The event brought together expert medical and scientific voices and powerful patient perspectives, from speakers Dr Rowan Thompson, Dr Mikael Sodergren, Julie Durrans and Dr Sameen Jalil.

Head of Imperial College London’s Medical Cannabis Research Group, and Chief Medical Officer at Curaleaf International, Dr Sodergren spoke about the ongoing research and real-world evidence (RWE) collection he is leading.

The UK Medical Cannabis Registry now has over 50,000 patients enrolled, making it the largest registry of its kind globally. Clinical outcome data collected through the registry have now contributed to over 30 international peer-reviewed publications and over 60 presentations on a range of indications and medical conditions. 

While more advanced clinical trials are needed to prove the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines in these conditions, RWE can demonstrate safety, Sodergren said. 

His research team is now using AI to harness this data to predict treatment outcomes in patients, profile the most appropriate characteristics for certain therapies and determine the combination of cannabinoids with the most favourable effect. 

Head of Imperial College London’s Medical Cannabis Research Group, and Chief Medical Officer at Curaleaf International, Dr Mikael Sodergren.

“If you just look at 140 cannabinoids, the number of permutations that 140 cannabinoids, ie the number of different mixtures that are available…you cannot do this systematically. You can’t test all of these different combinations. It’s going to take longer than we’re all alive,” said Sodegren. 

“If you’re starting from that point of view, then machine learning is excellent to try to narrow this down… it can give you a very good idea of what combinations are likely to work, but that’s not a substitute for the testing done in the lab, and taking it down the traditional path.”

Explaining the endocannabinoid system, Dr Rowan Thompson highlighted the importance of this in a range of different health conditions, such as chronic pain, endometriosis and depression.

Conditions like anxiety, depression and insomnia are associated with low ECS tone, for example, which also plays a role in infertility. High ECS tone, however, is linked to chronic pain, cardiovascular disease and obesity. 

Yet, despite the crucial importance of the ECS in the body, when asked whether it is more widely taught in medical schools today, Sodegren said it still was not, despite his best efforts to introduce it at Imperial College.

Advocate and patient, Julie Durrans, received the warmest reception of the day after she spoke movingly about her own journey with chronic illness and how finding treatment with cannabis-based medicine has transformed her life.

“Cannabis didn’t cure me, but it gave me my life back. It gave me energy, clarity, community and hope,” she said.

“I want every patient to know that they deserve to be heard, to be believed, and to have access to safe, effective treatment that works for them.”

She also called for patients to be able to grow their own medicine, highlighting the healing benefits that she has experienced from gardening at her allotment.  

“My wish is that one day, no patient will have to hide, feel shame or fight for their medicine, “ Durrans added. “And that maybe, just maybe, everyone will have the chance to grow one plant in their lifetime, just to see where this healing really begins.”

Julie Durrans spoke about her experience as a medical cannabis patient.

Founder and Chair of We, The Patients, Carola Pérez, said the event marked a historic moment for patients. 

“We are truly delighted to have landed in London with We, The Patients,” she told Cannabis Health.

“This marks a very special milestone for us, bringing the patient voice into such a historic space, more than 650 years old, to talk openly about medical cannabis felt like a dream come true.”

Thanking the sponsors and partners for their support, Pérez, added: “We want to express our deepest gratitude to PatientsCann for their incredible work and to UPA for their support and trust. The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive; they appreciated not only the content and the speakers but also the thoughtful details, from the welcoming atmosphere and catering to the dedicated rest area.

“For us, it was much more than an event; it was a moment of connection, recognition. We hope to get back to London next year with another topic.”

Join Dr Rowan Thompson and a host of other expert speakers to continue the conversation around cannabis-based medicines at the Cannabis Health Symposium in London on Tuesday 25 November. 

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