A new private clinic in Cheadle has become the UK’s first specialist medicinal cannabis centre.

The pioneering new Medical Cannabis Clinic, for which consultant neurologist Professor Mike Barnes will serve as Clinical Director, is now open to patients at The Beeches Consulting Centre in Manchester.

The clinic will be led by Dr David McDowell, an independent pain specialist.

It follows the Home Office’s decision to reschedule medical cannabis in November, and is the first of a planned network of specialist clinics being opened by European Cannabis Holdings (ECH) around the UK.

Dr McDowell made history in December when he issued the first prescription for medical cannabis. He has since prescribed to Forzana Nasir, 32, an Open University student from south London, who suffers from the genetic condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which leaves her in severe pain and suffering from nausea and vomiting.

Since taking medical cannabis, she has gone from taking 13 different medications a day to just three.  

Commenting on the new clinic, she said: “Having access to this medicine allows me to ease my chronic pain which turns an unbearable day into a manageable day. It has been life-changing for me – I was almost bedbound before this and now I have much greater quality of life. It is so important that other patients in the UK who are suffering can have the same opportunity. This clinic opening is a significant step forward for healthcare in this country.”

The clinic will treat patients experiencing chronic pain, many of whom currently depend on powerful and highly addictive opioids. Despite the change in law, only four patients have successfully accessed this treatment via the NHS[ meaning this will act as a lifeline to those who have thus far struggled to access this treatment.

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