0:00:24 > 0:00:25And let's blaze.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30In the USA there's been a medicinal cannabis revolution.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It is now legal in half the country's 50 States
0:00:32 > 0:00:35to treat illness.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39- NEWSREADER:- Michaela is a registered medical marijuana patient.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41In Britain the drug is illegal,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44with the government saying it's been proven to damage
0:00:44 > 0:00:46mental and physical health.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I'm embarking on a road trip around the UK
0:00:48 > 0:00:52to find out why many people believe in the medicinal power of cannabis
0:00:52 > 0:00:56and are prepared to break the law to use it.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- I'm sorry.- It stops when it wants.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09This is nothing. It gets worse, doesn't it?
0:01:09 > 0:01:11How long is it going to go on for?
0:01:11 > 0:01:12Only a couple of moments.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16It's worse when it's...
0:01:17 > 0:01:19..the whole left side that goes.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Andy had two motorbike accidents 17 years ago,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and sustained severe injuries all over his body.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40He also developed epilepsy and osteoporosis...
0:01:41 > 0:01:42..and is bedbound.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46He uses cannabis to help alleviate pain.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49All right, I'll be back. I'll see you later.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Is this bit really hard?
0:01:53 > 0:01:54Always is.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57It's cos I can't move the shoulder much.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04It takes so much effort to just even...
0:02:04 > 0:02:06LOUD ROCK MUSIC PLAYS AS RINGTONE
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Sod's law.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13I'm noticing every week it's getting harder and harder...
0:02:15 > 0:02:16..to make a spliff.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27You look like you're in pain.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29I am in pain. It hurts.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34I mean, I can't even open my hands properly.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35I'm not doing this to get stoned.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37I'm not doing it for fun.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42You all right?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45It causes a little pain, but it doesn't matter in the end, does it?
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Because, at the end of the day, I've got a joint,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50it's going to make me feel a little bit better up here.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56I don't reach the point of getting stoned.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I never do. And as anybody who smokes these will know,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02that's a very badly built joint.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09So, the days of me being able to roll are rapidly running out.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12I need to find another solution.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19For many other people, that solution is Jeff,
0:03:19 > 0:03:20a cannabis campaigner
0:03:20 > 0:03:23who believes in the healing properties of the drug.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25He has devoted the last 15 years
0:03:25 > 0:03:27to campaigning for cannabis legalisation
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and has been arrested 12 times.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Is your car a bit like an office?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I'd actually say, it's probably, some days, it's more than my office.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- It's more like home. - Really, why do you say that?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Well, on occasion I've slept in my car overnight, on such missions
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and, well, yeah, generally, it is my office.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49I've got everything here I need -
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Internet connection, Google and e-mail.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54And cannabis oil in the boot?
0:03:54 > 0:03:55Probably.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- NEWS REPORTER:- Just two weeks ago, Jeff Ditchfield was facing
0:04:00 > 0:04:03a jail sentence for possession and intent to supply cannabis.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06He freely admitted giving the drug to sick people,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10and in a landmark ruling, a jury found him not guilty.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12If a person is in need, needs cannabis,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14then I'll continue to help them.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Jeff travels around the UK
0:04:17 > 0:04:19distributing the drug in the form of oils
0:04:19 > 0:04:23which he makes himself from cannabis plants.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- I brought you some more... - Fantastic.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29..so I can restock you. But what I've actually got here this time,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- is, I have two different versions. - OK.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35His product is unregulated and illegal,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38which makes people fearful about identifying themselves.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44But there is a big demand all over the UK for his cannabis oils.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48We are assisting the parents of over 70 seriously ill children,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50just in the UK alone.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55And through the Facebook page we are receiving roundabout 250 to 300
0:04:55 > 0:04:57requests for help per week.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01That's not just from parents, that's from adults, mainly,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and mainly cancer sufferers.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Do you make money from giving cannabis oil to parents?
0:05:08 > 0:05:13No. People's ability to pay doesn't enter into our thought process
0:05:13 > 0:05:15when we decide to help a parent.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18Jeff is visiting a mother
0:05:18 > 0:05:21whose daughter suffers from severe epilepsy.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26The daughter is only four years old.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29What is the risk of this condition that she has?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32The most serious thing that can happen is, she'll die.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And that's the reason why parents like myself
0:05:37 > 0:05:38have been giving the kids it,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40because when you've exhausted every other avenue,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42and every other drug...
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Since I've been giving her the oil,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48she doesn't jump the same in her sleep.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52You would do anything, you know, to try and cure your own child.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54Hello.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58You're not worried at all that the cannabis oil
0:05:58 > 0:06:00hasn't been through the same of clinical trials
0:06:00 > 0:06:02that her prescribed medication would have been on?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Definitely not, no.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- Because it helps her? - Because it helps her, yeah.
0:06:07 > 0:06:08I know I'm doing the right thing.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13I know it's a lot safer than the drugs that I've got in my cupboard.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I have two versions of oil with me at the moment.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22They're two for you to have and try.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's not just desperate parents hoping for a cure.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Recently engaged Phil and Nicky
0:06:31 > 0:06:33have placed a lot of faith in the drug as well.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39So I was planning to propose to Nicky before Christmas,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42when we went to London. I guess I just bottled it
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and thought maybe I could find a better time to do it, or something.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Yeah, I can't imagine it's easy.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48Yeah, yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52So how did the doctors pick it up?
0:06:52 > 0:06:57I woke up in Countess Hospital in Chester.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I had a seizure upstairs, yeah.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01And that was the first seizure you've ever had?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Yeah, never had a seizure before.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Just before I proposed, we had been to Walton to see my neurosurgeon.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13He'd looked at all the scans he'd got from Chester,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16and he had said, "What you have here is a glioma."
0:07:19 > 0:07:22You were diagnosed with brain cancer in January of this year.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23Yes.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Cannabis contains at least 400 compounds.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36The most widely known are CBD, which is legal,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38and THC, which is not.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41THC is the compound that gets you high.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44There are conflicting opinions on which compounds work best
0:07:44 > 0:07:46for different conditions.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I take CBD oil, and I take that through the day
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and I will then vape THC.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02I just want to use this for shrinking this tumour
0:08:02 > 0:08:03or whatever's left of it.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Phil has already had surgery to remove the tumour
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and a course of radiotherapy,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but he believes the traditional medicine alone
0:08:14 > 0:08:16is not enough to beat the disease.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Alongside cannabis, he eats a special carb-free diet
0:08:20 > 0:08:22and wears blue blocker sunglasses.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26In a week's time he goes back to the hospital to find out
0:08:26 > 0:08:28if there is any cancer left in his brain.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46In her quest to help Andy deal with pain, his wife, Ruth,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49is learning how to make cannabis oil for his vape.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53He wants to quit smoking it because of the impact on his lungs.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I've had to learn how to do all of this...
0:08:56 > 0:08:59..because nobody, sort of, tells you.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05So, Ruth, can you tell me what are we doing in your kitchen today?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Right, we're going to be cooking up cannabis vaping oil,
0:09:09 > 0:09:16so that Andy can put it into his vaporising machine and he vapes it.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Why can't you just buy the stuff?
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Because it's illegal.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Doing this, I'm committing a criminal offence.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28So give it a test and see what you think.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32I think you've got the mixture right.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35But I just need to get the flavour right?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- It's just the flavour.- Right.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41I don't know, really, what words to describe it, other than...
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- ..dirty underwear. - SHE LAUGHS
0:09:50 > 0:09:54What I want is something safe for him to use, and for me,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56even though it's not really...
0:09:57 > 0:10:00..something I would normally have ever done,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04I've got to the stage now where I think, I've got to do something,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07because this is what works.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10It stops him shaking. He can, you know, get out and about.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14He doesn't want to get stoned, he just wants to, sort of,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16lead a normal life.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22I was doing the cheese for my cheese on toast.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- And...- She begged?
0:10:24 > 0:10:28She begged, so I said, I'm not going to, erm...
0:10:29 > 0:10:31..give it to you until you sit down.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33She sat down first time.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Andy used to take more prescription medication before using cannabis.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Since he started taking the cannabis,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47what medications has he stopped using?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49These ones that I'm pulling out now.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54So, one, two, three, four, five,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58- six, seven...- Oh, and the fentanyl patches.- And the fentanyl patches.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00So that's eight...
0:11:00 > 0:11:04So that's eight prescribed medications that he's off
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- since taking in the cannabis.- Yes.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14The spasms have already slowed right down.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17And I'm probably ten minutes into smoking this.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22None of my medicines work this quickly.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23None of them.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I've researched all of Andy's medical conditions.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31I research all of this.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And I know, basically, what it does to his body.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38So I would rather have this than all the pills he was taking
0:11:38 > 0:11:42any day of the week, because I get the person I married back again.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57I was extremely tired towards the very start of radiotherapy
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and as soon as I started using endocannabinoids,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02all that tiredness went away.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05I didn't have to go on steroids through radiotherapy
0:12:05 > 0:12:09and I got to the very last day of radiotherapy, and the day after,
0:12:09 > 0:12:10I did a full day's work.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13And I've been working full-time ever since.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I really don't think I would have been able to continue working
0:12:16 > 0:12:19if I hadn't have used cannabinoids.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23I'm, well, I'm ready whenever you guys are.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Today Phil gets the results of his scan.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39This is the CBD oil.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48It kind of tastes like, eurgh, vegetable oil.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Babe, don't worry, because whatever happens, even if it was bad news...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04..there is a lot of...
0:13:04 > 0:13:06extra things I can do.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14I know.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I would rather be illegally alive, than legally dead.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And that's the way my whole family feels.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29This is a life and death situation here.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Andy, Phil and Jeff were all telling me cannabis was a powerful medicine,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43but if this is the case, why is it illegal?
0:13:43 > 0:13:48The government says the drug has no recognised therapeutic value.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50I spoke to Dr William Notcutt,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53a hospital consultant who has run trials into cannabis treatment
0:13:53 > 0:13:56for multiple sclerosis and pain relief.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Is there any evidence for cannabis? Does it actually work?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04There is a huge amount of evidence that it does work.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07This book shows the current evidence that's there for cannabis,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10from basic science and also from clinical trials.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16I have some good examples of people with chronic pain problems
0:14:16 > 0:14:18who've been through all the standard remedies,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and with the use of a cannabis extract, have been able to achieve
0:14:22 > 0:14:24good quality pain relief.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29You sort of get to play doctor, really, don't you?
0:14:31 > 0:14:33I really, really don't like the doctor term.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Main reason being, I have no medical qualifications whatsoever.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37I'm not a clinician.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And I would much, much prefer it if the UK law was changed
0:14:41 > 0:14:44so doctors and pharmacies could do what I'm doing.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Then I wouldn't have to be a criminal,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and these parents wouldn't have to act in a criminal manner either.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I've met a man who gives medicinal cannabis oil
0:14:55 > 0:14:57to the parents of sick children.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Is that safe? Should he be doing that?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03I haven't a clue.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04I don't know what he's giving.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Cannabis itself is a very complex plant.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09If you take an extract of cannabis,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11it has 400-plus different compounds in it.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14So, unless I know what is actually on the label,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16how active it is, and so on like that,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I have no idea, as a doctor,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21whether it's going to be of use or not -
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and until we get proper clinical trials going
0:15:23 > 0:15:25on these sort of things,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27all we are going to have is just anecdotal evidence.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31And I've known patients who've been on such oils
0:15:31 > 0:15:34who have gone and died soon afterwards.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36I just don't have the answers for this at the moment.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40At the end of the day,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45you are providing an illegal substance to these parents.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Are you just a drug dealer?
0:15:49 > 0:15:50No.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54In spite of all the evidence and experience you've got,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57you are still giving these oils that are illegal.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00They've got the THC, you're giving them to parents.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Fair enough, you're not making any money from them...
0:16:03 > 0:16:05No, no, nothing material, anyway.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08But when a parent contacts me, they've generally made the decision
0:16:08 > 0:16:11that they are going to give cannabis oil to their child
0:16:11 > 0:16:15because they believe it is the child's only chance of survival.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19So, it's a decision I have then,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21I can say, "No, I'm not going to help you,"
0:16:21 > 0:16:25or, "Yes, I can provide the oil," and if I don't do that,
0:16:25 > 0:16:26or my buddies don't do that,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29then these parents aren't going to stop and give up.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31They are then going to continue on the internet,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34like some of the parents who have been conned and scammed
0:16:34 > 0:16:38out of thousands of pounds - and receiving substandard oil.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Our oils are tested... - HIS PHONE RINGS
0:16:40 > 0:16:42- Excuse me. - WOMAN:- 'Hello.'- Hi.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- 'Hi, Jeff. How are you?' - I'm OK. How are you?
0:16:46 > 0:16:47'I'm very well, thank you.'
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- Good.- 'I'm calling about my father.'
0:16:50 > 0:16:54'He's been battling cancer for almost eight years now.'
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- OK.- 'And he's had numerous conventional treatments,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'and he's now at the point where they said they think he's terminal.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05'Since I had him on this oil that I've purchased,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07'I feel like he's gone downhill.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11'I'm so scared at the minute that I might have poisoned my dad
0:17:11 > 0:17:12'and that I've made things worse.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15'And, to be honest, I don't really know where to turn.'
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Oh, bless you.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Um...
0:17:20 > 0:17:25- I wish...- 'Sorry.' - It's OK, it's OK, it's just that...
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It's unlikely to have done him any harm, but...
0:17:28 > 0:17:31..it's impossible for me to rule that out,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33because obviously we don't know the source of this oil,
0:17:33 > 0:17:34how it's been made...
0:17:34 > 0:17:37'No. Of course.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39'The alternative specialist that we've seen...'
0:17:39 > 0:17:41SHE SNIFFS
0:17:41 > 0:17:43'..has said that she thinks the cancer is spreading now.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45'Quite rapidly.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'I don't know how much longer he's got.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:54That's OK, darling. I can send it off to the lab I use in Spain,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57at Valencia University, who test my extracts,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- so we can find out exactly what's in it.- 'OK.'
0:18:00 > 0:18:02We'll do what we can.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03'Thank you very much.'
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- OK, you take care. - 'OK, thank you. You too. Bye.'- Bye.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It's OK. I'm just going to... I'm going to have to clear my head.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13I'll be back in a minute.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22He's really mad.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28Her dad is dying, and she's going to do whatever it takes
0:18:28 > 0:18:31to keep him alive for a bit longer, and...
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I think, for me, and certainly for Jeff, just to hear her saying,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38"I don't know if I've poisoned my father,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42"I don't know if I've shortened his days", I think...
0:18:42 > 0:18:43I think that's tragic.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51How do you navigate through, you know, this online...
0:18:52 > 0:18:55..medicinal cannabis world?
0:18:55 > 0:18:57You can't. You can't, and that's the problem with it.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59This is a useful medicine,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02it's a valuable medicine in clinical practice today,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and it's a scandal that we are so slow at moving forward
0:19:06 > 0:19:08with a medicine that's very safe,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11when it's used in properly controlled amounts.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Jeff is going to meet the woman who phoned him two weeks ago.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28He wants to see the oil she was sold.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30So we used this for a little while,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and it really wasn't doing anything, so that's why it's still...
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- there's still a lot in there. Because we just stopped it.- OK.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Unfortunately, the people who are often involved online,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42they fall into two categories in my mind.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46There's the people who are well-meaning, and should shut up.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And there are people who are just down and out scammers and conmen.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55We've tested some oils that people have bought to treat cancer
0:19:55 > 0:19:58and we've actually found it contains zero cannabinoids.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04What I'd like to do, if it's OK with you, is take half a gram of this,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07and then I'll send that off to Valencia University
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- and have it analysed...- OK, yeah.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- ..and find out exactly what's in it. - OK.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17And some cancer sufferers believe that, you know,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19medicinal cannabis is helping to cure them.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Is there any research to back this up?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24There's clinical trials already going on,
0:20:24 > 0:20:29on a particularly difficult type of cancer to treat - brain cancer
0:20:29 > 0:20:30called a glioblastoma.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33There is good evidence, also, in other types of cancer...
0:20:35 > 0:20:38..that the activity of the cancer cells is modified
0:20:38 > 0:20:41by the use of cannabinoids -
0:20:41 > 0:20:43but it's not been translated
0:20:43 > 0:20:47into, really, into significant clinical practice.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50So the patient is left with a problem...
0:20:51 > 0:20:55..that they may have come to the end of standard chemotherapy
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and find, you know, what else is there, out there?
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I, myself, have been approached by many patients
0:21:01 > 0:21:04to say, "Look, I bought this cannabis oil on the internet.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07"How much do I need to cure me of my cancer?"
0:21:07 > 0:21:10And I have to say, "Well, I don't really know what you're taking,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12"what its effect is going to be,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16"how much of the cannabis that you've got in that bottle of oil
0:21:16 > 0:21:19"is going to be of use to you, or anything like that,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21"because it's not been worked up as a medicine."
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Yes!
0:21:33 > 0:21:35It was better than good results.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- How do you feel?- Tears of joy.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46The good news is, on the MRI, there's no sign of disease.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53A couple of months ago I was told that I was going to die young.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55This is a very aggressive cancer that I've got,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and there's nothing I can really do
0:21:57 > 0:21:59to avoid a nasty end.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02Love you.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16If you leave the milk out, it goes off.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17OK.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You said that you've seen a difference, and you have a son,
0:22:25 > 0:22:26- he's also seen a difference?- Yeah.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Can you just tell me what he was like with the medication
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and what he's like after he has cannabis?
0:22:33 > 0:22:37He had dad at home, but dad wasn't here.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44So... He would describe it as having a shell.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48And it's there, but it doesn't do anything.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54It was always me taking him out, taking him to school,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56it was me out in the playground.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00He'd never got that until Andy started using cannabis.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07This is the only thing I do in my life that's illegal.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12It helped improve the relationship with my son,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17because, even if I'm really ground down from pain,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I can still find that ten minutes for that chat that he needs,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22that he can't talk to his mum about.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I'm going to push you out of bed.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Don't, because I can't get up!
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- Exactly!- What do you want to watch?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34I don't really care. You'd be like a turtle.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Except for the part where you wouldn't be able to move at all.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40What do you want? Copycat Killers?
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I'll tell you what, they've got the Tupac one.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45- Really?- Remember?- Yeah. - You wanted to watch Tupac.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51On opiates, he's got even less chance of that.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55You know, opiates, it's like alcohol,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57it's not conducive to a family life.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03He was the true working man's poet.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- TUPAC:- I've been wondering why death rates are going up
0:24:06 > 0:24:07and suicide is going up.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11More kids are being handed crack than they're being handed diplomas.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13I think that rich people should live like poor people
0:24:13 > 0:24:15and poor people should live like rich people,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and they should change every week.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And you would say that before cannabis
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and after cannabis is a total..?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Yeah, it is polar opposites, really.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- How so? - Like, he's just a lot happier.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29He's more... He can do more stuff, like,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32he tries to cling on to the little things like putting a T-shirt on.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Because with his shoulders and everything like that,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37it's impossible, but because of the medical cannabis
0:24:37 > 0:24:39it gives him the will to do it.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41I guess it's just, like, better for the whole family
0:24:41 > 0:24:42because we are all just less stressed
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and we are all more relaxed.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The only thing you really need in your life is family.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51If something is legal, I'd rather take the legal option,
0:24:51 > 0:24:52any time of the week.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58I don't want that fear of prosecution.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01It's degrading, that worry.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Because you're doing something to help your pain, and to help...
0:25:07 > 0:25:10..your family from breaking apart,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13because being disabled is a great strain on family life.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19What do you think of cannabis?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Do you see it as, sort of, a medicine?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Or do you see it as an illegal drug?
0:25:24 > 0:25:27I see it as a medicine, but I can also see why it's an illegal drug,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29because if you don't understand it, you just get high on it,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32but I don't think people should be persecuted
0:25:32 > 0:25:34for wanting to help their illnesses.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41People think it's hard for the disabled person, but it's not.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45It's far harder for the family of the disabled.
0:25:46 > 0:25:52And that's the aspect I find the hardest to deal with, mentally,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I find it the most upsetting.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00I know it's illegal,
0:26:00 > 0:26:05but it gets to the stage where you think, "Society can judge me,
0:26:05 > 0:26:06"I don't care."