Tom Curran, husband of the late Marie Flemming, says cannabis became part of her routine.

Thursday 12th, 14:37pm

For further information:

Sharon McHugh
TV3 PRESS OFFICE
+3531 419 3430 / 087 922 4143
sharon.mchugh@tv3.ie
publicity@tv3.ie

Ciara Byrne
+353 1 419 3329 / 087 3199732
ciara.byrne@tv3.ie

TV3 GROUP RELEASE

IMMEDIATE: Thursday 12th June, 2014.

Tom Curran, husband of the late Marie Flemming, says cannabis became part of her routine.

Tom Curran, husband of the late Marie Flemming who was a long time sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis, appeared on Ireland AM this morning to speak about a revolutionary MS drug that he believes should be made available for free.

Mr Curran became visibly upset when speaking about his late wife and how he misses her. He also revealed the remarkable affect the illegal drug cannabis had on Marie and how it became part of her pain-medicating routine.

To watch the full interview click here.

Ireland AM airs Monday to Friday from 7am – 10.00am on TV3.

Tom Curran, husband of the late Marie Flemming, who was a long time sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis, appeared on Ireland AM this morning to speak about a revolutionary MS drug that he believes should be made available for free. Marie passed away last year after a long battle with MS and the loss of a landmark Supreme Court challenge for the right to an assisted suicide. Now, Tom is campaigning for a new drug, ‘Frampya’, that he believes would have helped Marie and could have a massive effect on MS sufferers.

Tom told Ireland AM’s Sinead Desmond and Anton Savage that although it may be controversial, cannabis also had a very positive effect on Marie.

“Rather than buying it on the street, I bought seeds on the internet and I grew it for Marie and the results were incredible. The pain relief, the spasms and also to be perfectly honest, the lifting of her mood so it helped her in lots of ways that the pain control drugs just weren’t able to do.

“Marie chose to smoke it rather than bake it or anything like that. You could see within two minutes of her taking it, her limbs stopped shaking, the pain relief, you could see the anxiousness in her was gone because the pain was dissipating. It was remarkable. It became part of our routine, if that’s the way to put it, yeah.”

In the 15 years where Marie was suffering the most, Tom searched everywhere for a miracle drug to alleviate symptoms and he believes that Frampya does just that. However it can cost up to €500 a month which is unsustainable for many sufferers. Tom believes it should be covered by the Long-Term Illness card or the Drug Repayment Scheme.

“How much is a person’s life worth? How much is the benefit of something like this to people? Not only will it help them and will it relieve their symptoms but they can stay a productive part of society. They can still work. They can still contribute to society and they’re not dependent on the state then for assistance so its saving in the long run, it’s not just a cost.”

Frampya has been made available in Ireland for the past two years to a number of patients by its manufacturer, Biogen Idec but this will end later in the month resulting in patients reverting back to previous states of immobility. Tom believes the stress of this alone will have a detrimental effect.

“I know from dealing with Marie that stress was one of the biggest problems with MS. Any time Marie got stressed, she had a relapse. When there was a major stress in her life, it meant a major relapse and these people are being put under enormous stress by the state and it’s very possible that that will advance their MS and make it more difficult for them.”

When asked how he was coping, Tom sad that he was sad and missed Marie terribly.

“Everybody who loses somebody they love goes through this. I’m not unique so yeah, I loved her so of course I miss her. Sorry, I love her.”

For further information on MS, please visit: http://www.ms-society.ie/

Ireland AM airs Monday to Friday from 7am – 10.00am on TV3.

Images have been sent to your picture desks

ENDS

For further information
Ciara Byrne – Press Officer – 01 419 3329/087 319 9732

Jean O’Donovan – Press & Publicity Assistant – 01 419 3428

Sharon McHugh – Head of Press & Publicity – 087 922 4143

publicity@tv3.ie
www.tv3.ie

Follow TV3

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TVThreeIreland