From Pain to Purpose: My Journey with Medical Cannabis
By Jane Hinchliffe – for Medical Cannabis Awareness Month
Living in constant pain
For as long as I can remember, I’ve lived with unexplained pain.
At 13, doctors called it growing pains, and later suggested it might be arthritis. It wasn’t until I was 26 that I was finally given a fibromyalgia diagnosis — but even that turned out to be incorrect.
Years of uncertainty and trial treatments followed. I went through physiotherapy, medications, and endless appointments, but nothing ever truly touched the deep, burning pain running through my body. Over time, that pain became a constant companion — something I simply had to live around.
Then, in 2014, a cycling accident changed everything. Not long after, by 2015, the symptoms of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) began to take hold — one of the most painful conditions known to medicine. It spread from my left knee to my hand and legs, leaving me housebound and in a wheelchair.
The pain was relentless. I was exhausted, depressed, and felt like my body had become a prison. Opiates dulled the edge but stole my clarity and motivation. I began to wonder what kind of life I really had left.
The turning point
In 2018, I attended a small community event where people were openly talking about medical cannabis and its potential to help with chronic pain. I wasn’t sceptical — I was curious, hopeful, and ready to try anything that might bring relief.
Me & Stacy, the lady who invited me to my first cannabis event
That afternoon, I ate a medical-grade space cake — my first one of that quality. Years before, I’d made the odd cake from cheap hash with friends, back when none of us really knew what we were doing. But this was different.
On the train home, still in my wheelchair and on my own, I chucked a whitey — pale, dizzy, and overwhelmed. Yet beneath it all, I realised something: for the first time in years, the pain had eased.
It was messy, but it was real. And it showed me that cannabis could actually work for me — not as an escape, but as medicine.
“I’ve gone from a wheelchair to walking.”
That’s the phrase I’ve repeated so many times since. Cannabis gave me back my life — my movement, my sense of self, and my will to keep going.
I still remember what it felt like to be in constant agony, watching the world pass me by. Now, I go swimming, I do yoga, I garden, I create herbal blends, and I run my own small business. None of this would have been possible without medical cannabis.
It’s not about getting high.
It’s about being able to live.
Living in the grey area
Even though medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018, access remains limited, expensive, and confusing. Many patients still find themselves caught in the grey area between legality and necessity — forced to source the medicine they need outside of prescription routes.
For people like me, this creates constant anxiety. You live knowing that the one thing that allows you to function could be misunderstood or even taken away.
I’ve always said:
“If it wasn’t for cannabis, I would have given up.”
That’s why awareness matters — not just for me, but for the thousands of patients living with pain, trauma, or neurological conditions who still struggle to access safe, legal treatment.
A message for Medical Cannabis Awareness Month
This November, during Medical Cannabis Awareness Month, I want to help shift the conversation from stigma to science, from judgement to understanding.
Medical cannabis isn’t about rebellion — it’s about relief. It’s about giving people like me a chance to move, to work, to smile, to exist without being trapped inside pain.
There’s still so much education and reform needed here in the UK, but change starts with stories — real stories from real people.
If my journey helps even one person feel seen, or one policymaker see the human side behind the headlines, then it’s worth every word.
Final thoughts
I’ve been through a lot — from wheelchairs and hospital beds to building a small business centred around natural healing and herbal care. Every blend I make, every cup of tea I share, carries that same message of balance, recovery, and hope.
So this month, let’s raise awareness.
Let’s keep speaking for those who can’t.
And let’s keep reminding the world:
cannabis is medicine.