A Beginner to Vaping Flowers - Part 1

As pretty much a weed virgin (I did it once on a trip to Amsterdam and once with a friend), I knew there were different names for things like joints, spliffs, blunts, bowls – but I didn’t really know anything about vaping dry herb. I gave up smoking around 9 years ago, making the move to vaping e-liquid and have had a variety of vape pens, but looking through Reddit and other places on the net, to vape medicinal weed, I would need a different kind of vape.

This was not brought up at all in my appointment with MaMedica – the assumption seemed to be that I had done my own research and knew how I would be taking the medicine and as long as I wasn’t smoking it (illegal in the UK at the present time), then that was all good with them.

Generally speaking, the first thing anyone seemed to suggest was the Dynavape as it is meant to feel the most similar to smoking and is an easy introduction at a reasonable price – I got mine for under £57 and made sure to go through Quidco!

I didn’t like it.

It didn’t feel like a cigarette OR a vape pen – it felt heavy and cumbersome in a way I didn’t expect. I also didn’t like trying to light/combust the dry herb – spinning the dynavape to ensure that the heat was evenly distributed felt twiddly, and because I was using a bog-standard lighter, it got very hot very quickly and became uncomfortable.

Secondly, and something I should have realised so it’s my own fault – burning the herb means that the pretty silver dynavape very soon had a blackened end that looked far from attractive. I cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol so it doesn’t look as bad now, but for a while there it looked very grimy.

Possibly due to my inexperience, I didn’t feel like I felt the benefit of the bowl I had just inhaled and the whole thing was a bit of a let-down to be honest. Book-Grim tried it and it sent them into fits of coughing, and they were very nervous of the open flame lighting the dynavape which I think also prejudiced us against this method. I know that some people suggest a butane flame for an even burn and ease of use, but I didn’t like the dynavape enough to invest in further things – possibly I would revisit in the future? I know that it can be used quite effectively with a bong so that might be worth a little experimentation. But at the moment, it’s sitting in it’s box unused and may well end up on eBay.

Let's talk about edibles

 My knowledge surrounding cannabis, prior to this whole journey, was fairly limited to movie trivia. Obviously, I recognise now that it's all exaggerated, played up for laughs. I didn't know much about medical cannabis, other than a vague knowledge that it was legalised in the UK.

When SK first started talking about it, we didn't know enough about the process of obtaining it as medicine. We had Book (a relatively new uni student) who said she could get some from friends. We had a cousin of mine who was in very sporadic contact, who claimed that he'd bring some whenever he came to visit. But we didn't have a direct source ourselves, nor did we know where to get one.

Something I was aware of, from those aforementioned movies, was edibles. Space brownies, CBD/THC gummies, general green baked goods. So I went online, researched, researched some more, researched a lot more (in case it's not obvious, I'm of a very wary nature). With SK being let down so many times, I wanted to try and find an alternative. While she continued to look into where she could procure cannabis, I was looking into more unorthodox methods.

Which took me to Etsy, where I often find myself when looking for niche, personalised or otherwise unusual items. To my surprise, once you know the right terminology, there's quite a lot of options. "Space brownie" was no longer the correct term. "Edibles" brought up dubious results, which might have contained THC, but also might not. "Infused" seemed to turn out the best results. "Hemp" occasionally gave useful results but not always. 

I was still cautious. After all, from an online listing, who can really tell if what a seller claims is the truth? Couldn't it just be some chancing their arm, hoping to make quick cash? I decided to contact a few sellers for additional information. Anyone who blanked or blocked me, I considered a no-go. Reviews were a must. I didn't want to introduce anything that might be harmful, that might make things worse. To be honest, even now that we've tried them, I'm still not convinced that buying them from some random seller on Etsy was, in any way, not a monumentally stupid thing to do.

But I did it. They weren't overly cheap - although I'm not really sure what the going rate is. It was around £28, including shipping, for four cookies. They were packaged in a tupperware, tightly wrapped in cling film, with a note that suggested we start small. That made sense. We could always try more, but if we got plastered from the off... well, it wouldn't be good. 

We didn't get plastered. In fact, none of us could really say that we felt much from them, apart from a dry mouth and a headache. We started with a cookie between us, giving ourselves a few hours to see if they had any effect. Book and I thought, maybe, we were feeling something, although that could well have been a placebo effect. SK didn't get anything from them, other than a third of a subpar cookie. 

We tried them again, at various different times, to greater effect. The headache and dry mouth were real. Dry eyes, fizzy brain, mild dizziness. Heightened emotions, lack of spatial and volume awareness, increased sensitivity. 

I can't claim they didn't work. They definitely did. But it didn't feel reliable, or even safe. Our journey into edibles wasn't over, but Etsy wasn't going to remain my first port of call.

First Prescription and Issues

Two days after the phone call to Mamedica, I received my first prescription.

5 gram Adven EMB-1 (50:50) with a maximum dose of 1 gram per day and directions to vape 0.25 grams when required. I’m slightly embarrassed to say it took me a while to do the maths that at 0.25 grams when needed or 1 gram per day, there was absolutely no way I was going to make it to my scheduled consultation in August – there was simply not enough product to make that feasible.

I knew that it would be a low dose – the doctor I spoke to in my first consultation made a point of explaining to me that due to my medical history, they would be loathe to prescribe too much. But I at least expected to have enough to last me to my next appointment. Especially once I double checked and realised that I couldn’t do a repeat prescription until I’d had a second consultation.

I called and spoke to Mamedica and the gentleman I spoke to was surprised at how low my prescription was. It made me feel a lot better when it took him a few minutes to realise the issue with the prescription and he said he needed to check my records. He said he’d never seen a prescription that low before – not quite the claim to fame I’m hoping for – and suggested that at my next consultation I simply explain that it was insufficient and see if they would raise it. He did reiterate that it was noted in my records to see my medical history so it might be the case that they are unable to prescribe more. He also found a cancellation and got me in for a consultation before my prescription runs out so that I wouldn’t have to be without.

I’m not sure how to describe the product I’ve received. It doesn’t have a particular smell – nowhere near as pungent as any other stuff I’ve bought recently. I’m not an expert in how it should smell, taste or feel – but I definitely felt like this wasn’t it. When ground down, it actually looks like flowers that have already been combusted/vaped. I’m currently using a Xmax V3 Pro which I got for £73 from Amazon – with product from Dispenseree, I’ve found it really easy to use and relatively effective, so I was disappointed not to get the same results with the medicinal cannabis. I have also tried the Dynavap but didn’t get on with it – I’ll probably try to do some reviews of the equipment I’ve used. The MC seems to have very little effect on me – the pain is still very much there, with little to no alleviation of symptoms (I suffer from osteoarthritis in both knees, sciatica and back problems); I can’t say whether it has done anything for my anxiety/depression as it simply hasn’t been long enough.

I’m going to try to keep notes on how using it effects my pain levels and mood to see if I can find a happy medium between being completely unable to do anything but sit and smile, and basically sucking the life out of my vape in an attempt to get some pain relief!

Again, it took a phone call to sort things out and I don’t think that that should be the case – I paid the invoice pretty much immediately and don’t think I should have to chase up my order, but I also understand that there are a lot of people just finding medicinal cannabis and as such, the company/dispensaries are probably quite busy.

I’ve been keeping up with posts on Reddit and it looks like I’m not the only person who wouldn’t have enough MC to get from their initial consultation to the first follow-up, so at least I’m not alone. And the issue was solved immediately.

Medical Cannabis - how the journey started..

In March 2023, I began to look into medical cannabis.

To be honest, I’d been trying to get my hands on some weed as I’d heard that it was excellent for pain relief and quietening those horrid voices in my head. The Teenager had moved into halls and allegedly it meant that we should be able to get our hands on some to try. I don’t know where everyone else was/is getting it from, but it’s a lot harder than you’d imagine and Teenager had no luck.

I heard about Dispenseree which sounded hilarious to me, but after a little research, I decided to give them a go. That will probably be another entry!

Da Boss went another avenue and we got our hands on some brownies from Etsy. They tasted lovely but seemed to have little effect on my pain or anxieties. Throughout all of this, I fell into Reddit and YouTube and this was where I found out about cannabis being legal for medical use if you went through a private clinic. There were conditions that had to be met: you had to have tried at least two conventional methods of relief, and you had to provide the clinic with your Care Record and hand over a chunk of cash, but after that, you gain access to cannabis legally.

I filled in the eligibility form on Mamedica’s website which said that I could move forward to booking a consultation as soon as they had received my SCR from my Doctor’s surgery. It also said that I could get this for myself if I thought it would be easier, but I ticked the box to give them permission to apply directly to my Doctor’s surgery. Then I sat back and waited.

And waited.

On 9th June, Da Boss was going to the Doctor’s surgery so she asked if they had forwarded my Summary Care Record to Mamedica. She was told that they needed the request in writing from me and gave her a form to complete, which we did and sent it back immediately. I contacted Mamedica around 18th June to find out if they had received it and got a reply saying I might want to nudge the Doctor’s surgery as it hadn’t been received as yet. I tried downloading my Summary Care Record (SCR) from the Patient Access app but I couldn’t figure out how to upload it to the Mamedica Sail portal.

So I called Mamedica again and this time, I spoke to Sam. Kudos to Sam because he was an ocean of calm, checking and finding that my SCR had been received but not attached to my file which made it look like it wasn’t there. I had already uploaded a scan of my PIP award which showed that I was eligible for the Access scheme, which meant that we could move to making the appointment for the consultation. Result!

I was originally booked in for July 11th at 6 pm which felt a long way away but I was happy to be booked in at all, and Sam said that he would put me on a cancellation list so if an earlier appointment was available, I could grab that one. Which is just what happened – an appointment turned up for Monday 10th July at 3 pm. I received an invoice from Mamedica for the £200 which represented the consultation fee and future prescriptions on the access scheme which I paid immediately.

I apologise, but I forget the name of the consultant I spoke to – he went through all of the paperwork to ensure that I had uploaded everything and they had all of my information. Then he checked my medical history where I told him about my stroke (roughly 9 years ago) and my heart attack which was in May 2022.

He explained that because cannabis use represented a ‘risk’ for both heart attacks and strokes it meant that the medical team might be reluctant to go in hot and heavy with the first prescription. We both felt that the risks associated with using cannabis were mitigated by the good it could do for me: pain relief, easing of anxieties, etc and he was hopeful that I would be accepted.

Which I was – I received an email confirming the outcome of my consultation followed by an invoice for what we had agreed I should try.

"Following your initial consultation, I can confirm that the MDT have approved your case and that our consultant is generating a prescription for you.

  They will send your electronic prescription to the pharmacy within the next 3 working days. Once received the pharmacy team will contact you when your invoice is prepared, and once the invoice is paid, your items will be ordered.  Once the items have been received in the pharmacy a member of the team will contact you to discuss dispatch. Please be advised that oil based items can take up to 14 days from ordering to receipt in the pharmacy. We can give you option to split your prescription if this is helpful and you will be able to discuss this with the pharmacy team. It should be noted that we may charge you for this service.

  Your prescription items will be dispensed and dispatched by Royal Mail special delivery to your home address and you will receive by text the tracking number for this delivery."

I paid the invoice from Mamedica’s Dispensary on 12th July and that was that. Today (17th July) I called Mamedica to say that I hadn’t heard anything from their dispensary regarding my order and they said they would chase it up for me. So that’s where we are with Mamedica – waiting to see what we get!

So far, my impressions are that when it comes to getting your SCR and initial consultation, it pays to call and speak to someone – emails proved unsuccessful, but speaking to Sam and other members of his team meant that things picked up pace and seemed to start happening – I understand that more people are becoming aware of the access to medical cannabis, hence the difficulty getting an appointment. I can’t speak for other clinics such as Lyphe or Sapphire as I didn’t go with them – that decision was purely based on the Access scheme that Mamedica offered – the thought of paying £200 as a one-off payment and then just for product felt like it would be easier for me to budget and manage, although I understand that other clinics offer different kinds of access.