Amy Black suffers from a condition so rare even her doctors couldn’t tell her much about it.

Having battled the illness for four years and suffered “horrible” side effects as a result of her medication, Amy has now turned to a controversial treatment in a bid to lead a normal life — cannabis oil.

At the age of 19, the former Morgan Academy pupil’s life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis.

Affecting one in every 10,000 people in the UK, it causes small patches of red and swollen tissue, called granulomas, to develop in the organs of the body. It usually affects the lungs and skin. There is no cure.

The UK has the potential to become a world leader in drugs derived from the cannabis plant, according to a leading biotech firm.

GW Pharmaceuticals chief executive, Justin Gover, told the Telegraph that the company is rapidly expanding its processing operations and hopes to get regulatory clearance for a new cannabis-derived drug in 2018.

GW, based in Porton Down, developed the only UK-legal cannabis-derived drug back in 2010. Known as Sativex, it is used to treat patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Further investment in the company’s operations in the South-East will see GW’s capacity to manufacture their drugs expanded by three times over the next three years. Roughly £30m will be spent in the process.

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) is already well on its way to winning the first-ever U.S. approval for a cannabis-derived therapy. But an early trial suggests that these treatments could also be an effective way to fight one of most devastating forms of brain cancers: glioblastoma multiforme.

By now you’ve probably heard of cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient in cannabis that, unlike the rest of the plant, is legal in the UK.

Some people who have suffered strokes, cancer, depression, anxiety and general aches and pains have reported positive effects after using CBD, and the NHS is reportedly doing research into the compound with plans to officially class it as a medicine.

Until that happens UK citizens are free to buy CBD in its various forms online, something I first did a few months back and have been grateful for ever since.

Here are some observations from taking CBD orally every day for three months to help combat anxiety and sleep issues.

1. Sleep was immediately improved

The legalisation of cannabis is once again in the headlines. Following the death of his 21-year-old son Rupert Green, Lord Monson has called for a ‘war on skunk’ and the legalisation of less potent forms of cannabis. According to his father, Rupert became addicted to skunk, developed paranoia and psychosis, and took his own life.

Many countries have legalised the use of cannabis or marijuana for medical and recreational use. The use of marijuana for recreational use is still debatable but medical marijuana can be used for many health conditions. The plant is being considered as a miracle herb. However, only 6% of the marijuana studies research its medicinal properties. Marijuana smoking also has negative effects when abused or overused. The user can get addicted and this dependency can lead to emotional and mental issues. Although we are still researching how exactly the herb affects our body, many studies suggest that marijuana has health benefits. Here are some of the health benefits of smoking weed.

GW Pharmaceuticals is hoping to develop a treatment for cancer after announcing promising results from an early stage study looking at how its cannabis-based molecules can help patients with the disease.

The trial tested how safe and effective two of GW's cannabis-derived molecules were in 21 patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive type of brain tumour.

The results showed that patients treated with GW's drug, in combination with temozolomide, which is the current medication used to treat GBM, had an 83pc one-year survival rate, compared with 53pc for patients in the placebo cohort.

The combination therapy increased median survival to more than 550 days, compared with 369 days for those on the placebo.