Hi again. My dad is currently using manuka honey. I have also read about cannabis oil. Has anyone tried this and if so, would they recommend and where can you purchase it from? Many thanks
This question comes up a lot - both Manuka honey and Cannabis oil are pretty controversial, with sceptics saying they are quack remedies and supporters claiming they are miracle cures. Apparently New Zealand (the only place where the Manuka flowers apart from a small number of farms in Australiia) only produces 1,700 tons of Manuka honey a year but globally 10,000 tons are sold, so the chances of buying the genuine unadulterated product are slim. This article looks interesting www.attn.com/.../manuka-honey-another-expensive-miracl...
When first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, two of my sons, one a staunch supporter of medicinal cannabis oil, went out and got me cannabis oil from two different sources.
I didn't take it for the following reasons.
Note firstly that I have no moral reservations about it.
Being illegal in the UK, the sources must also be illegal. Importantly, this means there is no quality control on the ingredients or any hygeine standards adhered to and the people selling it are in it purely for the money.
Secondly but most important, is the fact that, as I was on chemo at the time, if any progress or regress happened, it would be impossible to tell what was having an effect, the chemo or the cannabis or a combination. This I felt would detract from the medical practitioners' options.
If I were in the end stages of life my response might be different as the anecdotal evidence for pain relief, or at least not caring, is fairly substantial.
CBD oil is legal in the UK, the oil that contains THC is illegal. I got CBD oil for my stepdad with pancreatic cancer. He used it for a few weeks while trying to put weight on for chemo but stopped for unknown reasons, I think the cancer scared him so much he wanted to do exactly as the doctors recommended despite only having months left. Frustrating for me as the bottles are not cheap for the best quality and I have 2 unopened black label left in the cupboard.
Hello, I have just joined to let you know that yes you can buy CBD(Hemp) oil in the U.K. Holland and Barrett have it, 10ml for usually £19.99. I buy it for my teen son's depression, he swears by it. Thanks x
It feels like there's a bit of confusion surrounding exactly what is and isn't legal, so Ive asked the team here to help clear things up. They've written a response which is really helpful in getting to the bottom of all this, and explaining the difference between cannabis oil and hemp (or CBD) oil. I hope it's of interest!:
Cannabis oil is not legal in the UK. This is because it contains the mind-altering substance THC. Jones0343 correctly says that hemp (or CBD) oil is legal in the UK – this is because it has extremely low levels of THC in it so doesn’t have any mind-altering effects.
Scientists have been working to understand the potential benefits of using molecules found in cannabis (cannabinoids) to treat cancer for a while. We’ve written about the evidence for using cannabinoids to treat cancer extensively in this blog post.
There’s little in the way of evidence to suggest that either cannabis or hemp oil benefits most cancer patients. An early-stage trial we supported testing a drug called Sativex (made from cannabis extract) combined with temozolomide showed that it helped patients with brain tumours that had come back live longer. We’ll need to wait for further, larger trials to be certain of its benefits, and we don’t know if it will help people with other types of cancer.
Although there’s emerging evidence that molecules found in cannabis may one day be used to help people with cancer, we would advise against using black market or home-made preparations of cannabis oil. Not only is it illegal, but because it’s unregulated these products might be contaminated with harmful substances and vary in strength. Taking cannabis could also potentially interfere with other cancer treatments given to you by a doctor, and can carry other side effects and risks.
Hemp, hempseed (or CBD) oil is indeed available to buy in the UK. However, just to avoid any confusion, I've shared a post above to help distinguish between hemp oil and cannabis oil. It explains that cannabis oil is not legal, and gives a bit more background into the research that's been done into both hemp oil and cannabis oil.
We'd always recommend discussing anything you're thinking of taking with your GP first.
