Charles’ story: A soldier, a master builder, a dad - and now a medical cannabis success story

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself, and what kind of things bring you joy or give you peace?

I live in Cornwall with my family, and my daughter was born four weeks ago.

We live a simple life. Our dream is to live off-grid. Right now, we live in a big American-style caravan - you know, the ones that look like a house. The next move will be to buy some land and live off it. 

That’s why we’re in this sunny part of the world. My wife grows flowers for a living, so we need light. I’m a master builder. I'm qualified in over eight trades, so I run a whole business by myself, basically. Right now, I’m doing some roofing, but that changes week to week.

I love waking up to the birds tweeting. It’s nice and quiet where we live. I moved from London to Cornwall for the simple life. 

And what kind of health challenges have you faced over the years?

I’m ex-military, so I’ve put my body through nightmares. I suffer from pains left, right and centre. My body’s half broken. When I was in the army, I had to have my finger sewn back on. I also got shot in the leg and I just got used to working things out without going to the medics.

I’ve always been against pharmaceuticals (and doctors, to a certain extent) because, from my experience, all they want to do is put things down your throat and never ask you exactly what’s going on. The first thing they seem to want to give me is antidepressants, but I’m not depressed. I’m not saying that my mental health is always perfect, but the pain is the root issue.

Every time I go to see my doctor, they ask silly questions that have nothing to do with what’s going on right now. I’ve got this chronic pain in my arm and shoulders, that’s why I’m with Releaf.  When the pain is there, I’ve just got to get on with it. If I don’t work, I don’t earn. 

I’ve been micromanaging my pain with cannabis for about 20 years, but with recently becoming a dad, I wanted to find a legal, safer route. I need it to be legal. Likewise, I need to be happy. That’s it. I just needed someone and something that would actually help me out and Releaf has been a lifesaver.

To be honest with you, while it has been great for the pain, it has been just as good for my mental health. Because believe me, just having that card in my pocket is a completely different way of living already. Having the Releaf medical cannabis card has helped take away that feeling, especially as a new dad, that by medicating with cannabis, I'm doing something ‘wrong’.

So I can’t say a bad word about you lot! 

How did it feel being able to talk openly about cannabis with a medical professional?

It was quite new to speak about cannabis to somebody who’s a professional. Because the last time I spoke to my GP, about two months ago, I mentioned that I’m looking to go into medical cannabis. He notably frowned straight away, and said something along the lines of  “Oh, smoking’s not good for you. You have to stop it.”

And I said, “But you’re happy to give me antidepressants?” It just didn’t make sense to me, not at all. 

The first time I ever tried to stop smoking cigarettes, I must’ve been in my 20s. I went to the doctor, and they gave me these tablets to stop smoking. The first side effect was suicidal tendencies. Help me out? Not at all, and this is one of the reasons I’m mostly against taking pharmaceutical treatment options

They’re happy to give us such things on a prescription, because they’re legal pharmaceutical pills, but something like medical cannabis (that is just as good, or even better for some people), something natural and organic, they frown at.

I was reading through the information about Glass Pharms, and the way it’s done, I mean, there are no contaminants. There’s pure air. The filtration systems are good - it’s almost surgical! 

Could you explain on a day-to-day basis how your treatment has helped you?

I said to my last consultant, the effects and the relief are quicker than any of the pharmaceutical options I have been prescribed in the past, and it feels… I’m not sure of the word, maybe more “centralised”?.

Because it’s in the vaporiser, it’s a quick fix, a quick hit, instead of having to roll a joint and so on. It helps me more at night, because it’s such a direct hit that I’m able to go to sleep pretty much straight away. Before (when I was self-medicating with street weed or taking the pharmaceuticals), I had to wait half an hour or 45 minutes to get back to sleep.

It’s helped with sleep to the point that I’m waking up feeling refreshed nowadays. I haven’t had that in years, believe it or not.

The vape is also perfect because of how discreet it is. If I were to go out and have a joint, I would be stinking of it. My partner doesn't smoke, so she is quite sensitive to the smell, but when I come back from having a quick vape, all she notices is a nice blueberry smell. 

I run my own business, which means there are days when I just have to grin and bear it. I do everything from roofing to full construction jobs, and there are still days when the pain takes the driver's seat, but I have to carry on. 

But on bad days, my medical cannabis really does help, because again, it’s a quick thing.

The main thing which, I can’t stress enough, is the mental health. The help with the pain is great, but I’m telling you, the mental health support makes the pain remedy even better. It’s been transformative for me. When I'm in a good, healthy headspace, I can deal with the pain and stress so much more easily. 

How did you find the process of signing up and getting started with Releaf compared to your experiences with the NHS?

You need to have tried two conventional treatment options before being eligible for medical cannabis through Releaf (which I think is fair enough), but I had already tried three, so I was all good. Once Releaf had my medical records, things started moving really quickly - it was all very easy and straightforward.

At the beginning, I was a bit worried about purchasing from Releaf, but that was only my first buy. Now I’ve seen that I can purchase my own medication, as much or as little as I need throughout the month, instead of having to give one big lump sum. As you can imagine, with a little kid, money doesn’t come that easy.

I do understand the NHS is under stress. But l had to go five days in a row to the actual surgery just to get my medical records so I could start the sign up process with Releaf.

It was still early days with the shoulder, and at the time, the GP just gave me more painkillers. That was it. Six months on, I still haven’t had my first NHS physio session, believe it or not. What are you meant to do in the meantime, chew on timber?

The shoulder pain goes back years. When I was run over, I put my arms up to protect myself, and dislocated both shoulders. But the doctors didn’t properly check them at the time because I had worse injuries. A double-fractured pelvis. Glass in my face - 48 pieces of it! Hence, the good looks…

Then in the army, I damaged the same side again. I saved someone from falling out of a truck and ended up with my bicep ripped off the bone. The shoulder, the joint, the bicep, the rotator, it’s all one big mess.

And what’s the NHS approach been to that? 

Just tablets. Basically, it’s passing the buck.

I went to the doctor, and he goes, “Look, I can give you all the painkillers you want in the world, but if you keep doing what you do for work, that thing is never going to go.” And I said, “Well, you’ve never even looked. No scan. No X-ray. No referral.” I asked him, “Can you refer me to someone who can actually look inside?”

He said, “No, you have to ask physiotherapy.”

I had already been waiting for three months for a physio appointment by then, and that’s when I realised it was time to really dig into the alternative options out there, and thankfully landed on the Releaf webpage. 

What would you want others to take from your story?

Well, it’s still a taboo thing, legal cannabis use in this country. Unfortunately, we still have to jump through hoops. But it’s worth it.

So my story is for anyone thinking about it. Look into it. I’ve already told two or three of my clients about Releaf, believe it or not. And this is elderly people, and they’re the ones calling Releaf themselves.

It’d be nice if it were easier for people to get onto it. Hopefully, with time, it will be. I can see that Releaf is doing a lot to try and lead that change. 

Because unfortunately, every time some people hear the word weed, they instantly just think of chavs running around making trouble. And it’s not that anymore.

My partner bigs you lot up as well. It was stressful for her, too. Where we live, people have complained about the smell and all that. When my landlord came to the door, "everyone else doing it here is illegal. I’m more than likely the only one doing it legally."

He couldn’t believe it, until I showed him the card. He said, "I didn’t know you could do that."

I said, "Well, now you’ve learned something."

I’m proud to be a Releaf ambassador. 

For more information about medical cannabis treatments for this condition, please see medical cannabis for chronic pain.