'It's pot luck': Rise in people taking risk using cannabis to treat health conditions

The number of people using illegal cannabis to self-medicate has increased by almost 30% since 2019, according to new research.

The drug was legalised in the UK for medical use five years ago.

Sky’s Alice Porter has spoken to one medical cannabis user.

#skynews #cannabis #drugs #health

Read more here: https://news.sky.com/story/rise-in-people-using-cannabis-to-treat-health-conditions-but-doctors-warn-patients-are-putting-themselves-at-risk-12828381

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50 Comments

  1. Be Happy on September 30, 2023 at 7:06 am

    I wouldnt say there is a rise….this has been going on for years. But people today are much more informed on the benefits of cannabis for chronic conditions. For me it helps me eat, its the only thing that helps me maintain a decent diet. It has also reduced the amount of panic attacks i experience. I shouldnt have to go to "dealers" for my medication.



  2. Tim Woodger on September 30, 2023 at 7:07 am

    It’s only illegal because of the pharmaceutical industry lobbying against it!



  3. michael Doherty on September 30, 2023 at 7:07 am

    The only reason it’s not legalised too many alcohol companies as tory party donors the alcohol companies do not want the competition



  4. Tommy Bombadil on September 30, 2023 at 7:09 am

    So using something that has been around since man first walked the earth is risky
    but go ahead a swallow any drug big pharma cooks up in a lab and bribes doctors to approve.



  5. Alex Bromilow on September 30, 2023 at 7:13 am

    Fascinates me how we all look back on the Prohibition of Alcohol in the US and think how weird it was… yet we’re doing the exact same with Cannabis 😂



  6. Jack Smith on September 30, 2023 at 7:13 am

    Wouldn’t be a problem if he was allowed to grow his own… Or go to a pharmacy to get his meds.



  7. tvtime on September 30, 2023 at 7:14 am

    Good for them👏



  8. JDayli on September 30, 2023 at 7:15 am

    ‘taking risk’? the only risk anyone takes is trusting anything u say u pack of mongs



  9. Zelda M on September 30, 2023 at 7:15 am

    "taking risk using cannabis" lol



  10. Leon Michell on September 30, 2023 at 7:17 am

    Legalise it please



  11. nadjibe on September 30, 2023 at 7:17 am

    I know now illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis, but I must say since I stopped worried about my drivers licence, I noticed a change in my driving now, I started driving like lunatic. I was way chilled then driving like a granny



  12. Tz on September 30, 2023 at 7:18 am

    "Taking a risk" There is zero risk



  13. Craig Molyneaux Roberts on September 30, 2023 at 7:20 am

    Taking risk ahaha gimps



  14. cptnstylez on September 30, 2023 at 7:21 am

    The medical cannabis is great but the infrastructure and logistics around it are currently pretty bad. 20 emails and 2 weeks later….



  15. ButchersAxe x gaming on September 30, 2023 at 7:22 am

    I smoke recreationally and I dont see the problem with it I understand how it can be abused and can get lazy, but it varys on person, like does alcohol and other drugs everyone is different, but the public has a firm understanding of what cannabis does, and we still haven’t legalised it yet. Literally just reading the comments I can’t see anyone against it. Why is it illegal ?



  16. Dan on September 30, 2023 at 7:22 am

    Been dealing with severe gut issues and pain for 16 years, can frequently cause me to be sofa bound squirming in pain for sometimes months at a time. No medication ever helped in the slightest. today I received my first cannabis prescription. I had been bound to the sofa a couple days already and wasn’t expecting to get up at least for a few more days. I took 0.1 grams in a vape.. 15 mins later I suddenly felt a wash come over my pain. The pain completely disappeared and on top of that the sickly mindset I was stuck in lifted in to feeling completely balanced like I was spruced up ready for a job interview. 30 mins later I was up giving the home a good sortout! This stuff really works!



  17. Cosmic Wanderer on September 30, 2023 at 7:25 am

    The UK is the world largest exporter of Cannabis.

    Our country produces huge amounts and sells it abroad for money.

    Our government sells drugs it claims is bad and illegal for money!!!!

    Unbelievable i swear i cant bare how corrupt this world is. Its rotten from the top down.



  18. jon tomas on September 30, 2023 at 7:26 am

    There is zero risk. Science and widespread experience have shown cannabis has no significant harms.



  19. Sidewalk Musik TV on September 30, 2023 at 7:28 am

    If I’m honest the quality of the medical cannabis is lower quality that on the streets of London



  20. Jake on September 30, 2023 at 7:29 am

    “Take the risk” there is hardly a risk but sheer pleasure



  21. FAT BASS on September 30, 2023 at 7:30 am

    It’s alcohol that needs banning



  22. Minty Riverboat on September 30, 2023 at 7:31 am

    Sundaes morra



  23. Craig Molyneaux Roberts on September 30, 2023 at 7:31 am

    Edited out its head



  24. jon bob on September 30, 2023 at 7:34 am

    I think all drugs should be legalized, and it’s not that I’m pro-drug. It’s simply that it would kill massive swathes of organised crime, allow addicts access to cheap, clean drugs, and free up resources for education and rehabilitation programs.



  25. patient D on September 30, 2023 at 7:35 am

    It’s great being legal with medical cannabis. But there’s a long way to go with the standards of the quality we receive. It’s pot luck! . Sometimes it’s dead or lost its terps and cannabanoids. Full legalisation now . Right to grow own for medical or recreational now.🌱💚



  26. DARKO on September 30, 2023 at 7:35 am

    Why are people without these conditions telling us how it works? I’ve started legal cannabis for around a month now and the difference in my mood, sleep, and behaviour is day and night.



  27. Wesley Russell on September 30, 2023 at 7:35 am

    Was thinking of drinking alcohol because I have tried fluoxetine,venlafaxine, Lamotrigine, respiridone and Quetiapine.
    It’s so hard to get cannabis, it has saved my life when being turned away while in crisis from the mental health team.
    My diagnosis complex pstd and quite eupd. Think alcohol is my only option now



  28. TheStifled on September 30, 2023 at 7:36 am

    Yes the massive risk of feeling better using a natural plant, instead of the pharma cartels "medicine"



  29. Mahroof on September 30, 2023 at 7:36 am

    The government must legalize it for all just like allcahol which does 10 time More harmful than hurble cannabis ,, especially for people with health issues like me,for pain releaf,,🇵🇰🇬🇧



  30. 6timered on September 30, 2023 at 7:37 am

    As a patient for exactly the same reason as this guy. Not having a proper source and it being pot luck on getting a strain from Dave down the road that actually could make me worse. Iv had 9 treatments for depression with nothing but feeling worse or numb, cannabis allows me to work in my corporate job and effectively and work on my issues while the cannabis provides me a better quality of life



  31. fgyhjvbjn on September 30, 2023 at 7:38 am

    not medical brodda



  32. ld reviews on September 30, 2023 at 7:39 am

    At a cost



  33. paul edgerton on September 30, 2023 at 7:42 am

    Far less of a risk then letting ten’s of thousands of boat piss takers wash up on our shoreline without vetting and then home them all for free 👌



  34. oldmanjdee on September 30, 2023 at 7:42 am

    UK biggest exporter of medical cannabis yet it’s still illegal and GP’s in the UK still believe the old nonsense telling patients that want to get access to it that it is dangerous. GP’s in UK need to be re-educated on the amazing medical benefits of this plant.



  35. Ralsei Prince Of Darkness on September 30, 2023 at 7:44 am

    takeing "the risk" LMMMAOOOOO



  36. 420 420 on September 30, 2023 at 7:45 am

    "pot luck" nice pun, but the science speaks louder



  37. LW1zFog on September 30, 2023 at 7:46 am

    ‘Cannabis is also being grown legally in the UK for another medicine, Epidiolex. It’s currently being reviewed for the treatment of two rare forms of uncontrollable epilepsy, by medicine agencies in both the US and Europe. But it’s not yet available.
    The specially bred type of cannabis plant used to make it is grown in a glasshouse in Wissington, Norfolk, by British Sugar – which also grows virtually all of the sugar beet in the UK.
    British Sugar – whose managing director is Paul Kenward – has an exclusive deal with pharmaceutical company GW, which makes Epidiolex. Mr Kenward is married to drugs minister Victoria Atkins.
    She was accused of "hypocrisy on a grand scale" over her husband’s involvement in a legal cannabis farm. She declared the interest in Parliament when she was appointed in 2017 and excused herself from speaking for the government on cannabis.’ – BBC, May 23, 2018



  38. stephen walker on September 30, 2023 at 7:49 am

    It should have been legal forever,



  39. Steve00 Alt on September 30, 2023 at 7:50 am

    Cannabis is the most widely used drug in the UK after Coffee despite it being technically illegal.
    Regulate it and tax it to make it more available.



  40. c d raynes on September 30, 2023 at 7:52 am

    Cannabis is being sold like Snake OIl. I actually causes depression in many people and is implicated in Cancers especially Testicular Cancers



  41. Brandon Soal on September 30, 2023 at 7:53 am

    There is no risk with cannabis it’s been scientifically proven time and time again that it’s helps treat numerous illnesses including cancer so the uk media narrative on cannabis is utter bs



  42. jay jay on September 30, 2023 at 7:54 am

    Space cakes are nice. I am eligible but not sure about these clinics. Can we not have a cannabis social clubs instead of going to some dodgy dealer. I am a member at 2 Spanish clubs.



  43. Not Me on September 30, 2023 at 7:54 am

    Dw pharmaceutical have the only licence to grow it in the UK and surprise surprise Phillip May (Teresa May’s husband) is the major share holder and plenty of other politicians and their rich investors friends all have shares in the company.
    Got to love a good of British monopoly!



  44. Bungieboi Music on September 30, 2023 at 7:55 am

    Legalise Cannabis !!!



  45. IBlameTheSpiceGirls on September 30, 2023 at 7:57 am

    Cannabis should be grown organically then pressed take the oil called rosin and vape it through a dab rigg that is the healthiest way to consume this beautiful god given gift.. some People are uneducated. The only reason cannabis is illegal in the UK is because the government are the biggest suppliers of medical marijuana in the world.. They don’t want to give up any pie..



  46. Tobiemoss on September 30, 2023 at 7:58 am

    Risk of hearing voices all your life. Risk of never completing that job youve got on.



  47. if 6 was 9 on September 30, 2023 at 8:03 am

    Liz truss gave her husband the licence to grow and produce cannabis oil, we, the UK, supply most of the world with it yet….
    Tate & Lyle, sugar and cannabis producers…but not for us…



  48. Wits on September 30, 2023 at 8:03 am

    I’m so happy I’m leaving this shi7 country with dinosaur’s age laws regarding a plant and going to Canada next year 💨🚬



  49. Vanessa Swift on September 30, 2023 at 8:04 am

    UK is extremely backwards on this wish our drs were as good as USA



  50. Random Farmer on September 30, 2023 at 8:04 am

    "Now being proposed" shows just how ignorant GPs are of cannabis and its history of medical use. It’s been used medically in the West since at least the times of the Ancient Greeks, and was the biggest selling over-the-counter painkiller in the 19th century. How utterly clueless medics are, and how easily cowed by propaganda.