A LIMERICK business woman has credited the use of medicinal cannabis with clearing up the debilitating symptoms of an autoimmune disorder that affected her life for more than two years.
Mother-of-two Maria Harper, who lives in Annacotty, featured in the TG4 documentary ‘Tabú’ this week when she told of how her husband gave her a Mother’s Day present of a bottle of CBD oil to ease her suffering.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a natural extract from the hemp plant that is often mixed with hemp, coconut or olive oil to enhance its absorption.
Although it is a form of ‘cannabis,’ unlike marijuana it does not contain sufficient amounts of an ingredient known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – the ingredient that gives users a ‘high’.
CBD oil is currently being sold in Irish health food shops as a food supplement. It is also used to ease serious medical conditions, such as epilepsy, and to alleviate mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
43-year-old Ms Harper is using it to treat Behcet’s syndrome, a rare disorder that causes blood vessel inflammation throughout your body and causes a range of symptoms.
Maria said she unknowingly reached the peak of the condition two years ago when she experienced skin rashes, severe mouth ulcers, extreme exhausting, severe joint pain, blurred vision, amongst other symptoms.
A familiar face in Limerick’s Milk Market, she had to cut down to working 3 days a week in her café, Harper’s Coffeehouse.
Maria was put on a strong steroid with severe side effect, on eye drops, on Cortisol injections, blood pressure tablets, sleeping tablets and a variety of creams and lotions.
“When your make-up bag is getting smaller and your medication bag is getting bigger you know there’s a problem.”
She tried researching CBD oil on Irish websites and looked for Irish products, but she struggled to find a lot of information. She found a lot more on American sites where she came across stories of others who were successfully using CBD oil to treat her condition.
“I had to do all the research myself because there isn’t information readily available here. I spent a couple of months researching, reading the CBD oil websites themselves, medical reports, reports from patients. I just thought I had to give it a go.”
Her husband purchased the first bottle of CBD oil for her last February as an early mother’s day present and she says she hasn’t looked back since.
She now uses 10 per cent strength Cibdol CBD oil which doesn’t contain THC and a three week supply costs her €72 from Eats of Eden on Thomas Street in Limerick city.
“Those little bottles have given me my life back. Within the first week, I got a full night’s sleep,” she says.
During that first week, Maria came off all other medications as she wanted to see what CBD oil was like on it’s own.
The stiffening of her joints, swelling of her hands, blurred vision, chronic mouth ulcers, and serious fatigue – all improved or disappeared altogether.
“I haven’t had one mouth ulcer. I haven’t had a skin blister. It’s unbelievable.”
“I take two drops, three times a day, and I hold it under my tongue for sixty seconds. I am pain free. Symptom free.”
Maria has returned to working six days a week and also cares for her eight and ten-year-old daughters.
She has stopped taking all other medications.
“I was lucky because I only had to pay €144 with the drugs payment scheme, but my medications were coming to €2,000 a month. I was paying €150 to specialists and €100 for Cortisol injections.”
While the cost of the small bottle of CBD oil may seem expensive, she says: “when it’s giving you your life back you’ll pay for it.”
Maria said people automatically think what she’s doing is illegal, but this is not the case
While this level of CBD is sufficient for her condition for now, she doesn’t know if it will be if her condition worsens.
She also acknowledges that for other conditions, the legal form of CBD oil is not sufficient.
She believes medical cannabis should be legalized and should be regulated and monitored like any other strong medications.
“This is a form of treatment for people that is working for people. We are trying to tell the government, hear this, hear from the people on the ground.
“Apart from CBD oil, my medicine bag is empty. Even if people could get the CBD oil on prescription. It would help so many people.
“Even if just one person tries it and it helps them, I’ve achieved something.”
