Cannabis and Long Term Illness

Hi there,

My name is Mark O'Gorman, i am currently in Dublin Business School doing my masters in Addiction Studies. For my thesis i am hoping to do some exploratory research on patients with MS who self medicate with cannabis to control spasticity. The idea behind the study is to show the effects that cannabis usage has on the social development of recreational users and patients suffering with MS. I know the current legislation regarding cannabis based medicine is under review to allow medicines like Sativex to be prescribed in Ireland, just as it is up north. MS Ireland has actively campaigned for cannabis based medicines to be made legal, and also provided anecdotal reports of patients with MS who use cannabis to "stop their body feeling electric" and also that it has helped people preform their daily tasks which were becoming difficult otherwise.

As i appreciate that this sample may be difficult to find, i would also like to hear from other people suffering from chronic illnesses who have used cannabis to help relieve some of their ailments/symptoms. I.E. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy have sometimes used cannabis as an appetite stimulant. I would like to speak to people who have not used cannabis prior to their diagnosis or who only started using cannabis once their symptoms began.

As part of the study, for every candidate that i receive, i will donate €25 to a charity of their choosing. The study will be completely anonymous. If you are interested or know someone who may be interested in helping, i can provide much more detail on just what the study will involve if you contact me through a private message.

Thanks for your time,

Mark