Comedian Mohammed Basefer had to choose. Lose the patch or give away his help – NRK Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
– On my CV is the criminal lending. But I have not smuggled, I have not healed. I just chose to inhale THC. I’ll continue to do that whenever I need it, he says
Mohammed Basefer from Stavanger came to Norway as a refugee. He is a comedian and father of small children.
As an adult, he was diagnosed with severe ADHD. He was prescribed Ritalin, which is the approved help for ADHD in Norway. It worked badly.
– I remember well that day with ADHD medications in the body. I worked on TV and sat staring at a screen for seven hours. I was apathetic. A zombie. I did not sleep. Did not eat. I lost weight, he says.
The solution was cannabis. First from the street, but after what he describes as an unpleasant experience with the police, he made contact with playwright Aina Mumbi.
Can pick up medicine abroad
She plays with her own clinic, and works with patients who do not receive medical cannabis in Norway.
According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, only one type of medical cannabis is approved for use in Norway. It is a mouth spray that contains cannabis extracts.
It is only approved for MS patients with spasms, and in 2020, around 200 people received this respect in Norway.
But medical cannabis for use in other diseases and disorders is approved as ADHD medication in countries like the United States and the Netherlands.
In Denmark, it is a temporary trial scheme that allows players to prescribe medical cannabis, such as oil.
Many of the patients to Mumbi, Basefer included, therefore travel to the Netherlands or Denmark to get a prescription.
Because of a kind of loophole in the Schengen agreement, those who do not have such approval, then with a certificate from the GP abroad, can get a prescription for cannabis oil or similar cannabis-containing products, and pick it up at the pharmacy there.
Then you can take a month’s consumption home to Norway.
But not without consequences. All use of medical cannabis from abroad is incompatible with driving.
– An hour after I came from the Netherlands with the medical cannabis, I was stopped by the police. They took the note from me, he says.
Is allowed
Basefer got a lawyer for a possible lawsuit. But lawyer Lars Mathias Undheim, explains that his case was never tried in court.
Analysis results showed that Basefer had cannabis in his blood equivalent to 0.2 per mille, which in the beginning does not result in loss of driving license.
He believes that there is something wrong with the health requirement in the driving license guide for the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
– Regardless of whether it is prescribed by the world’s largest specialist in neurology. As long as it is not written out by a Norwegian doctor, he must not have a driving license. That is completely wrong, I mean, says Undheim.
Undheim has previously defended in a fairly similar case, as Aftenbladet has mentioned.
– This is something that can and should be taken to court. In many ways, it is a form of discrimination against players abroad. There is no obvious connection with medical cannabis and it is not written in the health requirements, he says.
According to a judgment from Supreme Court in October, Norwegians can in theory buy cannabis on the street and use it for three times a month and still be able to drive.
Had to give up his prescription
After Basefer chose to be open about cannabis use on social media, he received several inquiries from people who are in the same situation.
– Many have had it much worse even. It is time for these patients to be prescribed medical cannabis in Norway, without being stopped and harassed, he believes.
He is supported by the Russian interest group (RIO).
– People who use medical cannabis are often searched, and the police claim that there is reason to believe that it is not a legal prescription. That they have a prescription box, but have put ordinary cannabis in the box, says Dagfinn Hessen Paust, head of the Association for Safer Drug Policy, to NRK.
He is aware that the regulations in Norway must be updated.
– There is no reason for medical cannabis to be assessed as particularly different from other prescription drugs. It is not forbidden to drive a car if you are on most opioids. If those with ADHD go to regular doctors, they have a duty to take them. If the cannabis does the same job, it is more dangerous for him to drive without it, Hessen Paust believes.
Just an approved product in Norway
Both the Police Directorate and the Directorate of Health point out that the health requirements for having a driving license follow from separate regulations.
– The police must prevent people from driving under the influence, and the frequency of drug use must be assessed against the use of vehicles, says Liv Aasberg Corneliussen, head of the Legal Administration section at the police department in the Police Directorate.
She points out that each drug must be assessed individually according to its properties.
As only the cannabis spray Sativex is approved for use in Norway, it is also only this that is approved according to the driver’s guide.
– There are a number of unregistered products that are used in Norway, and which are partly also brought in from abroad. These products do not have the same documentation on the content of active substances that can be affected by driving ability, explains department director Helga Katharina Haug in the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
According to the Ministry of Health and Care Services, there are no plans to make any changes to the regulations.
Basefer is unsure what to do in the future. To travel around on various assignments as a standup comedian, he is completely addicted to cars.
But to keep ADHD at bay, he also needs medical cannabis.
– Without the note, I can not do my job. I need it and I need to decide over my own body. It is a human right, he says.