My Legal Cannabis Journey | The First Legal Prescription

After moving over from the black market to getting legal prescriptions of medical cannabis through Lyphe, Charlie Cumming continues to share his journey and how his first legal prescription helped his Crohn’s symptoms:

“When my first prescription arrived, it was in a discreet black envelope which contained two pots, each containing 5g of cannabis in different varieties. This was Bediol, a balanced THC:CBD variety of cannabis and Bedica, which was specifically for night time use. As it was late morning when this arrived, I started with the Bediol to help with the abdominal pain, nausea and depression that I was experiencing at the time. I wasn’t very experienced with balanced cannabis flowers, so I assumed the strength would be fairly mild as the levels of THC were around a third to a quarter of the usual black market cannabis I had been using. However, the initial effects were surprisingly powerful and, for the first twenty minutes, I actually felt the need to sit down after feeling quite light headed and dizzy. This only happened from the first dose, and subsequent doses in the days following didn’t show a repeat of this experience. After allowing myself to adjust to these new effects a much more balanced, calming effect took place.

I found that the treatment was effective for pain relief and the additional energy it gave me provided a considerable boost, allowing me to get on with things that I wouldn’t normally be able to. As well as its anti-emetic effects, it also helped calm my anxiety and distract me away from depression, and this lasted for a couple of hours before I needed to top up the dosage again. I kept the dosage amount fairly small, at around 0.2g. This was the lowest recommended dose on the label and also the most that would fit into my vaporiser cartridges. I found Bedica to be the most effective with the pain, and also good for other additional effects. The night time use recommendation was appropriate, as it helped me to feel deeply relaxed and managed the pain and stress symptoms so I could easily get to sleep.

I experienced a couple of side effects, with some fatigue the following morning and a dry mouth after use but these weren’t unbearable. The Bedica would sometimes make me feel ‘high’, but this feeling was manageable and contributed to the relaxation and sedation that it was intended for. I found that the Bediol even contributed to a more mindful approach to dosing, whereas higher THC products can be somewhat ‘moreish’, I didn’t find the Bediol addictive. I even noticed an increased focus after taking the Bediol, as it helped me block out the pain and allowing me to get lost in creative activities and household chores.

When my prescription ran out, I emailed Lyphe to book a follow up appointment, which cost £65. This seemed expensive as I’ve not been used to private health care, but I understood the importance of it once I was then prescribed a higher quality of cannabis, with three new varieties to try. Once again, I was able to make payment a few days later through a very simple online system and my prescription arrived in the following week.”

To carry on reading about Charles’ journey with medical cannabis and how his second prescription affected his symptoms, stay tuned for the third instalment of this series.