Cantourage Clinic Ltd (“Cantourage Clinic” or “The Clinic”) is pleased to announce that it has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, a government-run obligation pledging support to those who have served in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. The Clinic now offers a 10% discount on consultations for veterans and the direct family of veterans, in addition to donations to COMBAT STRESS.org.
In honour of Armed Forces Day on the 25th of June, this month Cantourage Clinic is reducing the cost of all initial consultations from £99 to £49. In addition, £1 from each consultation will be donated to COMBAT STRESS – a UK charity dedicated to helping servicemen and women in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions.
Shortage of mental health staff within the NHS and military is an ongoing issue. Reports from a study conducted by the Royal College of Psychiatry and published in the BMJ [1] highlighted that England has just one consultant psychiatrist for every 12,600 people. With at least 1.5 million people waiting for mental health treatment, sufferers are being forced to contact emergency services or crisis services whilst they await treatment, with one in 10 ending up at an emergency department.
According to data presented by the British Journal of Psychiatry (2018the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans (7.4%) is almost double that of the UK public (4%) - and even higher among veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq. Effective mental health services and treatment options is, therefore, an important consideration in the support of veterans and those close to them.
PTSD often has a long-lasting and debilitating effect on the affected individual and a wider impact on those close to them. It often co-occurs with other mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression and insomnia. A growing body of evidence supports the potential of medical cannabis in the treatment of PTSD and co-occurring conditions.
Recent data shows that cannabis use is on the rise among veterans diagnosed or experiencing symptoms of PTSD. A recent study found that participants with a diagnosis of PTSD who used cannabis were 2.57 times less likely to no longer meet the criteria for PTSD at the end of the one-year study period. In another study, participants with PTSD reported improvements in sleep quality among other therapeutic effects of cannabis use.
Cantourage Clinic now offers a 10% discount on initial and follow-up consultations to all veterans and their direct family. Cantourage hopes that these steps will help to improve the accessibility of treatment to those affected by PTSD and related conditions.
Statement from Lead Psychiatrist, Dr Anup Mathew:
"I’m extremely proud be part of an organisation such as Cantourage Clinic which acknowledges and understands that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, along with their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the society they serve with their lives.Especially in view of recent and on-going conflicts, we should never forget the sacrifices the Armed Forces community have made and continue to make for all of us.”
Statement from Gabriel Newman, CEO at Cantourage Clinic:
“We are delighted to show our support to the brave community of veterans. All over North America, there are programmes in place to equip military servicemen and women with improved access to cannabis.
“The benefits of substituting Opioids or Benzodiazepines for medical cannabis have been widely reported, studies have shown that patients experienced ‘fewer adverse side effects’ and ‘better symptom management’ in comparison to opiate-based drugs. Cantourage Clinic is the UK’s first medical cannabis clinic to directly support the Armed Forces Covenant. We are proud to be leading the way in providing education and support to help improve the quality-of-life for military veterans in the UK.”
About Cantourage Clinic Ltd
Cantourage Clinic Ltd is a CQC registered clinic, combining a team of qualified specialist physicians, nurses and educators with cannabis industry professionals; joining forces with the sole focus of providing care and excellence for patients wishing to explore cannabinoid therapies.
[1] Rimmer A. Mental health: Staff shortages are causing distressingly long waits for treatment, college warns BMJ 2021;375 :n2439 doi:10.1136/bmj.n2439
[2] Stevelink, S., Jones, M., Hull, L.,Pernet, D., MacCrimmon, S., Goodwin, L., . . . Wessely, S. (2018). Mental health outcomes at the end of the British involvement in the Iraq andAfghanistan conflicts: A cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 213(6),690-697. doi:10.1192/bjp.2018.175
[3] Bonn-Miller, M.O.,Brunstetter, M., Simonian, A., Loflin, M.J., Vandrey, R., Babson, K.A. and Wortzel,H., 2022. The long-term, prospective, therapeutic impact of cannabis on post-traumatic stress disorder. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 7(2), pp.214-223.
[4] Krediet, E., Janssen,D.G., Heerdink, E.R., Egberts, T.C. and Vermetten, E., 2020. Experiences with medical cannabis in the treatment of veterans with PTSD: Results from a focus group discussion. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 36, pp.244-254.
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