The life of Carola Pérez changed forever when at the age of 11 she broke her coccyx while skating. Her coccyx was eventually removed and her life since then has been a series of surgeries and procedures, none of which have successfully lessened the intense pain she experiences on a daily basis.
Carola struggles to remember a large portion of her life in her twenties, due to the heavy opioids, antidepressants and even lithium she was prescribed and openly describes herself as being an addict during this time.
At her lowest ebb, Carola pleaded with her parents to end her suffering. Thankfully, a friend introduced her to cannabis.
"That was when was when cannabis came into my life and it was relief. It if we took one more year. I don't think I would be here. It just came in the perfect moment by the perfect person who prepared me a milk infusion. And suddenly I feel this calm and my pain was not so high. The volcano was like quiet. I could sleep, I could eat."
Not satisfied with the situation experienced by Spanish patients who are forced to turn to the black market in order to access cannabis as medicine, she started the patient support organisation, Dos Emociones (Two Emotions). She also founded the Spanish Observatory for Medical Cannabis alongside leading cannabinoid researchers, Cristina Sanchez and Manuel Guzmán, which as well as organising symposiums and educational events, also lobbies political parties to back the regulation of medical cannabis in Spain.
Carola is extremely forthright about the tendency within the cannabis industry to forget the plight of patients, using their suffering to sell their products.
"I'm a bit tired of the speech by the industry that we do everything for patients. If you do everything for patients, try to help the patients who are pushing hard to get cannabis regulated in their countries."
Useful links:
Dos Emociones
Spanish Medical Cannabis Observatory
International Association for Cannabis Medicine