Using medicinal cannabis has changed Ūawa local Karanga Te Ataahaea Marsh’s life.
Karanga Te Ataahaea Marsh (of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) is 29 years old and has drug-resistant epilepsy, which he was diagnosed with at 17 while living in Brisbane.
Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a form of epilepsy that is resistant to drugs to manage the condition.
Since his diagnosis 12 years ago, Marsh said he had tried at least 16 different drugs to see if they would help him, but none worked.
Marsh is one of 52 patients in the region who are accessing medicinal cannabis through a programme funded by Rua Bioscience, Trust Tairawhiti and a private donor.
He has been taking cannabidiol oil (CBD) over the past two years to help with anxiety and depression, which have been major issues.
The co-existence of psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression in people living with epilepsy is not uncommon.
“It has helped me meditate and become more present in life,” Marsh said.
“A lot of people would say I was in the room but I wasn’t present. I was kind of emotionless. It has really brought feeling back.”
He has “come back to life” and is now a student at Toihoukura Māori Visual Art and Design School.
Marsh has a passion for Māori art. He started learning whakairo (carving) earlier in life, so is excited to continue on his art journey.
He has been sharing his story and the benefits of medicinal cannabis to others at EIT and has been asked to do the same with Ministry of Social Development staff.
“I try to help as much people as I can by sharing my story.”
Following his DRE diagnosis and subsequent treatment, he noticed the medication he was on changed things about himself.
“You lose a lot of your personality and change a lot. My natural thoughts were different. There’s an increase of depression and anxiety.”
He also suffered major side effects.
“It really puts a hold on your life.”
Marsh started to research the drugs he was on to learn more about the side effects and it was during this that he came across information about cannabis and what it could do.
“That’s when I learnt about CBD and THC – the different chemicals found in cannabis.”
In 2020, before the Covid-19 lockdowns, he returned to Ūawa and lived with his nan, who was sick at the time.
Marsh said it was a privilege spending time with her and, with the number of drugs both of them were on, they would often joke about opening a pharmacy.
Over two years ago, he learned through Te Whare Hauora o Te Aitanga a Hauiti about Rua Bioscience’s compassionate access programme.
Rua Bioscience is a Tairawhiti-based medicinal cannabis company that has local products and also exports to other countries.
The compassionate access programme supplies medicinal cannabis to individuals with financial constraints.
He went to one of the roadshows the company did around Tairāwhiti and jumped at the chance to apply for the programme as he thought it could help.
The process was simple. He went to his doctor, who approved him for it, then filled in and submitted an application.
Marsh said cannabis should be legalised to allow more understanding about what it could help with if it was more accessible.
“It’s been put in a bad spotlight from the very beginning and is misunderstood. If we could work with it more and understand it more and have it more present in our country, we would be able treat conditions and truly explore the use of it in the medical field.
“It’s been proven in different countries around the world that it works.”
Rua Bioscience chief executive Paul Naske said the compassionate access programme had been going brilliantly.
“It certainly fulfils a need as the medicine is expensive. There is no subsidy for the medicine at all so it is 100% user pays and it is no wonder that some people cannot afford it.
“It has always been fully subscribed, which shows that there is a need in the community. The only issue is that we can’t not open it up to more people.”
Naske said the medicinal cannabis industry had been a tough and slow one.
“But things are getting better. With the recent changes to government regulations, this will increase the number of opportunities that we can focus on.”
—Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air