'It's difficult to see people struggle' - Derry man on opening medical cannabis lounge

A Derry man is creating a community where cannabis patients can come together to consume their medication in a relaxed environment.

Daryl McKinney is the founder of The Burn Pit Lounge on London Street in Derry. 

He had suffered from anxiety, depression, and sleep issues, with three or four disturbances happening every week. 

Daryl opened up about how it was affecting his work and daily life until he got prescribed medical cannabis. 

He shared how he would find it difficult to have one-on-one conversations and had begun isolating himself. 

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"The positive change in my life has been incredible. I think I've had one instance with sleep disturbances in two years, where before I was not able to sleep and was waking up," Daryl explained.

After noticing the impact it had on his life, Daryl said he knew he "had to do something" to help others. 

That's when the Burn Pit Lounge came about. 

Daryl runs the Lounge in a small space on London Street in Derry while also working his day job. 

He opens it three days during the week from roughly 4pm to 6pm, and on Saturdays from 11am until around 5pm.

Inside, medical cannabis patients can avail of tea, coffee, cold drinks and snacks while consuming their medication and forming connections. 

The Lounge has been open for almost a year now, and Daryl says locals have been very receptive to it.

"People that are new to it will be a bit standoffish at first, and then slowly they become a friend. There is a community growing around it," he said.

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At the moment, there are about 20 members who pay a small monthly or annual fee that helps "keep the place running." 

It's also open to members of the public who want to learn more about medical cannabis, but to consume medication there, the fee must be paid. 

The members have prescriptions for a range of different illnesses, with some of them suffering from chronic pain. 

Daryl explained how people had been taking up to 50 tablets a day to manage the pain, but since being prescribed medical cannabis, they are only taking one.

The group is currently working together to make a change to how medical cannabis is being prescribed, with one of its main issues being the price. 

"Private medication is too expensive, so people are being driven to drink. I have had two occasions where people come in and say, 'I'm sorry, my breath smells of drink. I can't afford my medication this month, so I'm drinking, even though I hate it.'

"I'd be very emotional after that. It's difficult to see people struggle when there seems to be such a simple solution, but it's illegal," Daryl shared.

Daryl and other members of the Burn Pit Lounge have been invited to the Health Committee this summer to discuss this issue. 

It wants to highlight how, because the medication prescription is so expensive, people are being driven to alcohol and drugs; a problem Daryl feels is prominent in the town at the moment. 

"It can be a bit scarring to walk down the town and see every bar full and then see from the depot to Quayside, there's like five or six patches of sick," he explained.

The group also wants to highlight how, if you have a medical cannabis prescription in the Republic of Ireland, you can travel with it to the North, but if you have a prescription in the North, you cannot travel South with it.

The Burn Pit Lounge members want cannabis to be viewed similarly to how they view it, as an aid, rather than a drug. 

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"I've seen far more harm from drinking and drugs. Cannabis is a drug, yes, but I view it more as a tool where, like knife crime, it's originally used for chopping vegetables, but you can also hurt people with it. It has good and bad," Daryl explained.

His motto is "whatever works for you, works for you," and that is whether it's traditional medicine or medical cannabis.

In terms of the future of the Lounge, Daryl hopes to continue to drive change, first through the Health Committee meeting in the Summer, and long-term, he hopes recreational cannabis will be legal. 

"I hope to see people with a medical prescription being able to either grow their own or, as part of a medical social group, grow their own collectively. I am in the lane I'm in now with medical, but I am open to it in all forms," he said.

If you are interested in what Daryl is doing, you can find out more information by searching 'The Burn Pit Lounge' on Facebook or TikTok.