In this update, we reveal a new clinical analysis of epilepsy T21 epilepsy patients and share the latest data and patient stories from Project Twenty21.
We also announce new events related to the project and medical cannabis more generally.
Over the past month, we’ve been working away behind the scenes to improve patient care and ensure smoother-running processes with our clinics. We continue to work closely with the incredible team at PLEA to ensure patients are being listened to and any issues are addressed as quickly as possible. As always, please do tell us about your experience by submitting your story here.
Quotes
“Medical Cannabis has made a huge improvement to my life. I feel I am coping better. I know how important positivity is for recovery and healing.”
“My pain is almost entirely under control, flare-ups can be stopped within a minute or two, and I no longer wake up asking myself if today will be a bad day or a very bad day.”
It’s Tourette’s Awareness Month
This month it’s Tourette’s Awareness Month, so we’re hosting an online event to discuss the evidence of Medical Cannabis as a treatment for Tourette’s. A big thank you to the charity Tourette’s Hero for their blog article supporting our event!
We are thrilled to have a leading expert in Tourette’s Syndrome, Professor Eileen Joyce, as well as two T21 patients on the panel – one of them being Michael, who recorded this brilliant video for us about how Medical Cannabis has transformed his life.
On our YouTube channel, you can find our patient videos covering MS, Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Tourette’s Syndrome, Chronic Pain and Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
New real-world evidence for childhood epilepsy
This month we released new clinical analysis that featured a group of 21 participants under the age of 18 each living with a form of rare severe childhood epilepsy. The evidence was sent in a letter to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock on 13th May.
It is our hope that this could end a regulatory standoff currently leaving severely epileptic children without the treatments that could help them most. Vitally, it provides an alternative dataset and prediction of response to randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Professor David Nutt argued that running an RCT would be “wildly unethical, dangerous and could even prove fatal” in the case of childhood epilepsy. Read the full article here.
Drug Science has been invited to participate in The Cannabis Academic Roundtable later this month, in a bid to further move the evidence base forward around medical cannabis and epilepsy. These roundtable discussions, run by Global Cannabinoid Solutions (GCS) and the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine (AJEM), aim to evolve cannabis policy by building consensus with sensible scientific steps to support urgent frontline patient needs. Our Head of Research, Dr Anne Schlag, will attend the first among a series of scientifically-led educational dialogues between world leaders from the cannabis science community and the emerging UK cannabis sector.
Events
GCI Virtual Summit 2021: 8th-10th June Drug Science CEO, David Badcock, will be taking part in a panel discussion: “Advocacy in the UK: Leveraging the Relationship Between Business, Medicine and Policy”. Find out more here.
Medical Cannabis for Tourette’s Syndrome: 17th June, 5.30pm Join our panel of experts featuring a range of perspectives, from scientific evidence-based to first-hand patient experience. Register for free here.
Medical Cannabis Explained (for medical professionals): 22nd July Our next CPD certified training session for medical professionals is a perfect opportunity for doctors to ask questions face-to-face with our Clinical Director, Prof Mike Barnes. To find our more and register, click here.
Legal but inaccessible – Medical Cannabis for Epilepsy: RECORDING In case you missed our event to mark National Epilepsy Awareness Week, here’s the link to re-watch the webinar. Our expert panel discussed what has happened since legalisation in 2018, and why patient access is still so difficult.
How can you help?
As we receive more and more stories from patients, the importance of Project Twenty21 has never been clearer. If you’d like to support Project Twenty21, to help us gather evidence for medical cannabis to be covered by the NHS, please consider a donation to Drug Science.
Every little bit helps us continue the essential work that we do.