A new patient network, NOPAIN has been set up with the aim of uniting patients to discuss issues surrounding safe, legal cannabis access. Writes Cannabis Health News
The Nationally Organised Patient Advice and Information Network (NOPAIN) is the latest of these groups to be set up with a goal to giving patients a voice and amending some of the problems with the system. Founder and chairperson Chris McBard talked to Cannabis Health about what convinced him it was time to start the network
“When the mould issue occurred, this caused quite a big issue for myself because I’m suspected to have an autoimmune condition that I’m trying to get diagnosed. I began to feel quite ill from it. I wouldn’t have known or suspected this was the case but I saw it on Reddit.”
Patients communicate a number of ways but one of the most popular channels is through private messages or groups on social media sites like Reddit or Facebook. It can be a quick and easy way to discuss problems with products.
I felt like this is a danger to patients and I started to see the complaints ramp up. I thought it was a fantastic idea that we created an independent patient network that was basically funded and run by volunteer work. It went on for a few weeks with people getting more upset.”
“A lot of us struggle with mental health conditions. My diagnosis is complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) so being without my medication has a huge difference to my quality of life. I can understand why people were getting so upset. I’m seeing people complaining about being left in the dark and having to go back to the black market which is a huge problem.”
Chris gave patients on Reddit the option to submit an application that stated what their problems were with the system to see what everyone agreed on. This gave an idea of the types of issues that needed to be addressed.
One issue was that patients were being left without medication and had to resort to black-market products.
