Cannabis and End of Life Care

When I think back to my younger years of working with this medicine I am constantly reminded how so many people only came to me once they were already on their ‘death-bed’ and doctors had given up hope in their own treatments. Often times the plant was able to offer medical miracles and patients continued to enjoy a good life.

In 1987 I nursed the first HIV Aids patient admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital and since that time I have been helping patients living with HIV and Aids to get hold of this medicine. So many who became ill in the late ‘80’s are now still living the good life and I can only attribute this to the ever-powerful healing properties of the human companion plant. Many people died in my arms after suffering from AIDS and I am happy that I was able to be there to hold their hands as they crossed over.

But many more people have survived because of their decision to self-medicate with Cannabis and receive the immense immune-boosting properties of this medicine

A lot of people cannot understand why millions of people with life-threatening diseases, especially small children suffering from cancer, epilepsy, TB and HIV, are legally denied access to a natural plant medicine that people could be growing at home. No one should be denied Cannabis in the light of all the research that we can all access in this day and age. It is not difficult to understand why so many people feel that they are quite literally being legislated out of their own health and well-being by being legally denied Cannabis. Far too many people have died unnecessarily because of lack of access to Cannabis. If only we had listened earlier; so many more lives could have been saved.

Here is an extract from chapter 18 of my book Cannabis is The Human Companion Plant

“Cannabis can even assist us in the end of life transition…

While Cannabis has already saved millions of lives in medical miracles over the years, it is also the most effective and safest medicinal option in palliative care. Patients suffering from symptoms of incurable conditions benefit immensely in respect of treating nausea, vomiting, headaches, pain, fatigue, insomnia, lack of appetite, constipation and diarrhoea, muscle wastage, anxiety, depression and bed-sores.

Most of the time doctors will prescribe a different drug for each of these symptoms, where Cannabis will take care of all of them as a comprehensive treatment with no side-effects or end-organ damage. 

With palliative care comes end-of-life care, and this is where Cannabis serves as an adjuvant medication. This means that it offers treatment firstly to suppress any secondary tumour formations, and secondly to boost the immune system from the harsh effects of chemotherapy and other radiation treatments.

Terminally ill patients and people at the end of their natural lives need care that is designed to make them as comfortable, and as clear-minded as possible. Today, end-of-life care generally consists of pain killers and more pain killers, which only make people more nauseous and more depressed and confused.

On a spiritual level Cannabis can help us to deal with our questions and fears about death and transcending to the afterlife. It is the psychoactive effects of THC that can induce feelings of elation and relaxation in certain people, whereas in others who have heavy hearts it can bring about feelings of paranoia and fear. Death is never easy, because we really don’t know much about it, but one thing is for certain, death is always going to be part of life. This is why it is so important to address our spiritual health while we live. It is the psychedelic properties of Cannabis that can help us to achieve such enlightenment.

THC can take us to levels of consciousness we are not able to reach without psychedelics, and it is also true that Cannabis is not the only plant that can offer end-of-life assistance; for example, many people use magic mushrooms, mescaline from the San Pedro plant, and even Ayahuasca and Iboga, the most psychedelic plant known to man, for this same purpose of crossing over, as humans have been doing for spiritual rituals for thousands of years.

Cannabis takes us from one level of consciousness to a higher level of consciousness and closer to enlightenment or spiritual illumination. I believe that all psychedelic plants were created to bring humans into closer communion with our Creator. This is why we have receptors in our brains for these substances, proving that ancient plants are the solution to so many of our modern-day problems.

Cannabis takes care of us physically in terms of the health of our body and brain, but in my work I have had the opportunity to observe how Cannabis is the plant catalyst to spirituality, and the very mechanism to attaining all things beyond this physical realm. THC can teach us to overcome our fear of death while we still live, by enhancing our visions of death-like experiences, and even our own deaths. 

It is difficult to evaluate this type of Cannabis healing, other than taking the patient’s own reports into account. Most of the time, patients simply pass on, and their families wonder whether they were in pain. Most patients and their families and carers report that Cannabis medicine is very valuable in assisting with the emotional and physical trauma associated with terminal illness and imminent death.

In addition, it is not uncommon for patients to gain such incredible healing from Cannabis that they are able to be discharged from hospice and go home and do things for themselves like bathing and housework. This sense of independence allows them to pass in peace at home. Many terminal patients have confessed that this is their ultimate dying wish, and it is the pleasure of our human companion plant to grant this wish.

Medical practitioners and paediatricians and even veterinarians, continue to be amazed at the miraculous healing abilities of the Cannabis plant. Truly this plant has shown us many miracles that people continue to experience even long after doctors say there is no hope. I can be honest and say that over 90% of my patients come to me as a last resort. A lot of people have seen me at their death bed and then weeks later we are drinking tea together. But for too many others, when I get to the death bed, the patient is often closer to pearly gates, than to death’s door. It is never fair to offer false hope, and sometimes it is simply too late.

And I really urge people not to wait until a family member is on their death bed before considering Cannabis medicine.”

In my opinion, at the heart of all of our questions is What if death is not the end?

If this were true then there really would be absolutely nothing to fear. Generally speaking if we claim to have ‘faith’... then we would believe that ultimately there is something greater than this life. We also then have faith in the idea that we will reacquaint with our loved ones who have passed before us and even our animal companions.

Many ancient cultures always had the idea that this is equivalent to a reunion with the Divine…The Most High….the Creator….the Divine...that actually always lived inside of each of us the whole time.

If we truly believed that there is greatness after life-and-death, and that it is amazing and glorious, then surely we would have nothing to fear about the afterlife and we could realize that we really ought to look forward to it because in my experience this idea of ‘living in fear’ is precisely what disconnects us from the Divine. My greatest wish is that everyone can find the courage and curiosity to not succumb to living this life in any kind of fear. Cannabis is the reason that I am not afraid of death and it is also the very reason that I am so happy to be alive! 

This paper is dedicated to all the palliative healers out there who stay with their patients and help them to cross over in love and peace, bless you for you are all angels with super-powers!