Eric Powers, a 49-year-old man residing in Birkenhead, Merseyside, who battles multiple sclerosis (MS), severe migraines, extreme nausea, and a complex neurological disorder, credits medical cannabis with saving his life. Powers, a former IT specialist from Florida, traces his neurological issues back to a childhood incident in 1989 when he had a traumatic inflatable slide accident at the age of 13 that resulted in a coma lasting five days.
Since then, Powers has endured a baffling neurological condition marked by temporary blindness, insomnia, swallowing difficulties, convulsions, and recurring comas. He shared that these debilitating episodes, occurring about once a month initially, led him to experiment with various pain medications, which often caused significant side effects, alleviating some symptoms while exacerbating others.
Discovering the benefits of cannabis at the age of 27 in 2003 was a turning point for Powers. Describing the relief he experienced as nearly instantaneous, he noted the disappearance of nausea and a significant improvement in his overall well-being. Subsequent to being diagnosed with MS in his early forties and relocating to the UK in 2025 following a romantic connection, cannabis has remained a crucial element in managing his pain.
Speaking to PA Real Life, Powers emphasized the profound impact cannabis has had on his life, stating, “I’ve been dealing with bad health for my whole life and cannabis is the only thing that keeps me going. It helps me with everything and it’s literally saved my life in so many ways I can’t even begin to describe. But there’s a really nasty stigma around it, and that’s the thing that upsets me.”
Following his childhood accident and subsequent neurological complications, Powers endured a range of debilitating symptoms, including severe migraines, vision impairment, and recurrent comas. A later diagnosis of MS shed light on the lesions found on his brain and spinal cord, possibly explaining the severity of his health episodes.
Recounting the challenges he faced due to his health struggles, Powers added, “I had been suffering and struggling so long and I was even fighting to keep my jobs because these episodes would come on out of nowhere.” Despite being prescribed various medications over the years, including potent painkillers, antidepressants, and nausea-relief drugs, Powers found that cannabis outperformed them all in managing his symptoms.
Although introduced to cannabis by his father at the age of 27, Powers faced legal barriers to accessing it in Florida. With the drug becoming medically legal in Florida in 2017 and in the UK in 2018, Powers finally found relief through medical cannabis, which he described as surpassing the effectiveness of conventional medications in alleviating his pain and improving his quality of life.
Despite encountering stigma, even from healthcare providers, for his use of cannabis, Powers remained steadfast in its benefits. His journey took him across different states in the US before eventually settling in the UK in 2025 with his wife, Diane, where he successfully obtained a medical cannabis prescription allowing him to manage his health more effectively.
Reflecting on the misconceptions surrounding cannabis, Powers emphasized the need to change perceptions, stating, “We need to reprogram people to realize that this is so helpful for people like me. We need it to function due to health ailments, and we do it because we have to in order to survive.”