Call for better access to medical marijuana for sick patients by Brendan McConachy

A Cairns man prescribed with medical marijuana after he was diagnosed with chronic pain is fed up with the lack of access and having to resort to buying drugs off the street.

A Cairns man prescribed with medical marijuana after he was diagnosed with chronic pain is fed up with the lack of access and rising costs.

Brendan McConachy, of Bungalow, has been using medical marijuana for over a year to help with his illness.

“It’s been a lifetime illness, it took until I was 50 to be diagnosed with chronic fatigue and 55 with chronic pain,” he said.

“It’s been a horror story from day dot.”

Mr McConachy said before he began his medical marijuana prescription, he was often unable to get out of bed.

After he’d been on the drug for about 10 weeks, he saw improvements.

“One morning I jumped out of bed, I’ve never done that, it usually takes me minutes. But this keeps me going.”

Bungalow resident Brendan McConachy suffers from chronic pain and chronic fatigue and is struggling to get access to his medical marijuana. Picture: Brendan Radke

But ever since he started the medication, he has had constant problems gaining access.

“Every time I go to the pharmacy. I have to sit there for over an hour because they have a problem with the script,” he said.

The other day was the final straw for Mr McConachy.

“The manager called my name out, I went out and saw him and he said we've got no more of the product,” he said.

“I rang the doctors who prescribed it and I told her I couldn’t get product so she rang him.

“Then she rang me back and said they had 11 canisters there, I was like ‘what?’

“So I had to do a trip right back there to get the canister.”

Mr McConachy said when he can’t access the medication it brings on other problems.

“Because you are feeling more pain it brings on medical health issues like depression and anxiety,” he said.

Sometimes the exact amount he needs isn’t available so he needs to get a different canister costing him more money.

Bungalow resident Brendan McConachy finds the cost of the medicinal marijuana he requires for pain relief prohibitively expensive, but he doesn't want to resort to buying street drugs. Picture: Brendan Radke

“The thing with the chemist, you go into the chemist every product is on the shelf and has a price on it,” he said.

“You get medical marijuana and you don’t know the price of it and it drops a bombshell on it.”

Mr McConachy said it had reached the point where he had given up on being dispensed the drug from a pharmacy and resorted to buying marijuana off the street.

“I haven’t been back since I couldn’t get any medical, that’s the reason why,” he said.

“I’ve been there for over a year and a half as a medical patient and I’ve had nothing but dramas all the way through.

“I’ve given up.”

Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey said because medical marijuana was still new to Australia, prescribers and dispensers needed to jump through extra hoops.

“Medicinal marijuana is an emerging therapy for a wide range of conditions, for pain relief, anxiety and epilepsy,” he said.

President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Trent Twomey. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Prescribers need to be additionally registered and dispensers need to be registered.

“They need to be kept in a safe place like a safe, some need to be refrigerated. Not all prescribers and not all pharmacies offer this.”

Mr Twomey said medicinal marijuana was readily available from prescribers, but patients would need to call around.

Mr McConachy said he has seen others get rejected and struggle to get supply, but hopes they can move forward by creating a group to meet and discuss the issue.

“We need to create a 4-20 group and communicate with all our members from Cooktown, Tablelands, Cardwell and bring everyone together,” he said.

“By us all coming together, brings in fresh ideas, also I am wanting to travel to each major town and get them going. We need to get these cannabis clubs.

“We need the members to come together to have a voice.”

Originally published as Call for better access to medical marijuana for sick patients by Brendan McConachy