MS sufferer angry at legal high ban

DEREK FLYNN/FAIRFAX NZ

UPSET: Paula Davis is looking atways to cope with multiple sclerosis now that synthetic highs are illegal.

A Blenheim woman who smoked synthetic cannabis to help her cope with multiple sclerosis is looking for an alternative treatment now that legal highs have been banned.

Paula Davis, 37, of Mayfield, said she was angry the government had banned all psychoactive substances, formerly known as legal highs, on Thursday last week.

She started using synthetic cannabis as a legal alternative to cannabis to help her sleep and eat after being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2006. The autoimmune disease causes overwhelming fatigue, numbness, and affects balance.

Davis said before she started smoking synthetic cannabis in October last year, she injected herself with medication to reduce the progression of the disease. She stopped sleeping and her weight dropped to 40 kilograms after the trigger in her brain to tell her she was hungry stopped working.

By smoking synthetic cannabis, she could eat and sleep, she said.

About 10 days ago she stopped smoking two types of synthetic cannabis she used regularly.

A few days later, she had a "flare-up" - a setback less than a relapse but which still caused a huge disruption to her daily life.

"My tongue's been numb since Tuesday as well as the left side of my face and under my eyes," she said.

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MS sufferer angry at legal high ban