An Open Campaign for Everyone

Patients, families, advocates, healthcare professionals, researchers, organisations and businesses all have a part to play in improving understanding of cannabis-based prescription medicines (CBPMs) and the experiences of the people who rely on them.

MCAW is an open campaign. It is a shared community initiative, and there is a place within it for anyone who wants to contribute positively to the conversation.

It isn’t about one organisation, one group or one person’s voice.

It’s about all of us finding ways to work together for patients.

A campaign with a history

MCAW has been bringing people together for several years.

The campaign began in 2020 through PLEA (Patient-Led Engagement for Access), at a time when the UK medical cannabis community was still finding its voice. Patients and others came together to raise awareness, share experiences and help more people understand the reality of being prescribed medical cannabis.

Over the years, MCAW has provided a space for patients, healthcare professionals, organisations, advocates and others to contribute to that conversation.

That history matters.

It reminds us that MCAW has always been bigger than any one event, organisation or individual. It has grown from people coming together because they care about the same community and the same patients.

A place for everyone

One of the things that makes the medical cannabis community special is the sheer variety of people within it.

• There are patient-led groups doing incredible work.
• There are clinics and healthcare professionals helping patients navigate treatment.
• There are researchers working to improve our understanding of CBPMs.
• There are organisations campaigning for change.
• There are businesses supporting patients in different ways.
• And there are thousands of individual patients whose lived experiences are an essential part of the conversation.

MCAW wants to make space for all of them.

Everyone has something different to bring, and nobody needs to give up their own identity or independence to take part.

You can be part of MCAW while still being completely yourself.

The campaign is a shared banner, not a replacement for the organisations and communities that make up the wider sector.

Coming together under one banner

The idea behind MCAW is simple: where we share a goal, why not help each other get there?

• Patient groups can introduce their work to new audiences.
• Clinics can share useful educational information.
• Researchers can help make science more accessible.
• Organisations can highlight campaigns and initiatives.
• Patients can share their stories and experiences.
• And everyone can help amplify the voices of others.

Cross-promotion and collaboration mean that good work doesn’t have to stay within one organisation’s audience.

Someone who discovers one part of the community through MCAW might go on to discover another organisation, another resource, another patient story or another opportunity to get involved.

When we help one another, everybody’s reach becomes a little wider.

We don’t have to agree on everything

The medical cannabis community is diverse, and that’s a good thing.

We won’t always agree.

Different organisations will have different experiences, priorities and ideas about how things should change. That’s natural, and those differences can lead to important conversations.

But disagreement doesn’t have to become division.

• We can disagree and still listen to one another.
• We can have different approaches and still share a platform.
• We can run separate organisations and still promote each other’s work.
• And we can have different ideas about the future while recognising the things we have in common today.

Unity doesn’t mean everyone saying the same thing.

It means recognising when we can stand alongside one another.

Let’s keep the focus where it belongs

There are real challenges facing patients.

• Access.
• Affordability.
• Availability.
• Education.
• Stigma.
• Understanding among healthcare professionals.
• The quality and consistency of patient experiences.
• Better evidence and better support.

These challenges are bigger than any one organisation, and they won’t be solved by organisations working against one another.

Our community has so much knowledge, experience, passion and determination.

Imagine what we can achieve when we put that energy into working together rather than fighting amongst ourselves.

The patients we are here to support deserve that.

MCAW is not about deciding who is right, who gets the credit or whose voice matters most.

It is about creating opportunities for more voices to be heard.