Steve Cardownie: NHS may soon embrace health benefits of cannabis

Murray Gray's rare form of epilepsy could be helped by using CBD oil, his mother Karen believes (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

I paid a visit to Raw Health Juice Bar at the Ocean Terminal and spoke to the owner, John Kennedy, who was only too happy to answer my questions.

He informed me that he had been a nutritionist for the last 25 years, was a martial arts instructor and was a black belt in Brazillian Ju Jitsu, so I was confident that this guy knew how to look after his health, knowing which foods and drinks were beneficial and which were harmful.

One topic which has been attracting some attention currently is the benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) and whether or not it should be provided on the NHS, so I was interested to hear his views on that issue.

Mum's plea for cannabis on NHS to treat her son's epilepsy

He told me that CBD does not appear to have any psychoactive effects, so there is no risk of experiencing a similar ‘high’ to a cannabis smoker and that his outlet is one of the few retailers that stock CBD.

Many of his customers are NHS patients and are purchasing it as a supplement, either to take for its own sake or to complement the other treatment methods that they are undergoing.

He said many cancer sufferers are using the product and he thought that it was so crucial to so many that the NHS should adopt its use.

The medical uses of CBD have been documented by previous contributors to this paper but forgive me for taking the liberty of highlighting a couple here.

A number of studies on CBD indicate that it may be useful in treating inflammation caused by a variety of conditions and there have also been anecdotal reports and studies which have indicated that it may be of value in treating epilepsy although this is not conclusive.

CBD safety in humans has been the subject of some studies which have found that it is well tolerated at doses of up to 1500 mg/day, which is another reason why so many people advocate its use.

CBD products are supplied by Loveburgh Raw which grows their own produce on a large farm in the Netherlands which also has a pharmaceutical-graded laboratory on site. Jas Nottay, the firm’s CEO, of told me that he is in the throes of consultation meetings with senior politicians regarding the provision of CBD on the NHS and regards it as just a matter of time before it will be. I was grateful for their input and for John’s expert advice, though I am not quite ready to give up my Bourbon and coke just yet.

Got a parking ticket? Then park sensibly!

‘More parking fines handed out in Edinburgh than any other city,’ read a recent Evening News headline.

But what if it said: ‘More drivers parking illegally in Edinburgh than any other city.”

Puts a different complexion on things, doesn’t it?