Why a Medical Cannabis Not-for-Profit Started a Motorsports Team | PatientsCann UK® Skip to content Founder’s story Medical cannabis & motorsport Driving Out Cannabis Stigma Why a Medical Cannabis Not-for-Profit Started a Motorsports Team Before I knew medical cannabis was legal in the UK, motorsport was already my life. By Sal Aziz PatientsCann UK® Motorsports Team Founder’s story Team launch · Thruxton On this page Getting through the gate Becoming a patient When my case became policy Finding another route Why I have to race References One of my earliest racing memories is being told off for swearing after losing on Need for Speed: Underground. In my defence, I was only replicating my father! A few years later, he introduced me to Formula 1 after Lewis Hamilton joined the grid. I began watching properly in 2008 and was immediately hooked, waking at the crack of dawn when needed to see every race live. The highlight was Brazil 2008. My father walked out during the final lap, believing the championship was over, moments before Martin Brundle exclaimed: “Is that Glock?!” I had to scream for him to come back. I wanted to be part of that world, but racing appeared impossibly expensive. Even arrive-and-drive karting was beyond my budget. Then I discovered marshalling. Getting in Getting Through the Gate In 2021, I attended American SpeedFest at Brands Hatch. COVID restrictions meant unusually small crowds, giving the freedom to explore. Watching the marshals made me realise there was no reason I could not join them. I volunteered and was immediately hooked. Driving onto a circuit for the first time, even at 30 mph to reach my post, felt momentous. I was finally part of motorsport rather than watching from behind a screen or spectator fence. I went on to marshal events ranging from grassroots racing at Anglesey to the British Touring Car Championship and Goodwood Festival of Speed. I can even add “told Gordon Ramsay where to park at Goodwood” to my CV. Sal marshalling at Goodwood, as seen on Sky Sports F1. (Image source: Sky UK, used for illustrative purposes under Fair Dealing). “Told Gordon Ramsay where to park at Goodwood.” (Image source: Sky UK, used for illustrative purposes under Fair Dealing). I also competed in car trials, taking my Daewoo Lacetti off-road to see how far it could travel through marked sections. It was not Formula 1, but it was affordable, competitive and enormous fun. Author competing in a car trial (Image source: Woolbridge Motor Club, used for illustrative purposes under Fair Dealing). Treatment Becoming a Patient After a road trip through the Netherlands and an eventual drug-driving investigation in which I was found to be below the applicable limit, despite testing a wide range of cannabis products, I began exploring medical cannabis through the proper clinical route. My initial consultation took place on a Saturday morning at Silverstone before a day of marshalling. Once I began treatment, I noticed immediate improvements. Chief marshals commented positively on my performance. I completed the required health declarations and passed my flag assessment while openly prescribed medical cannabis. Author flag marshalling at the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (Image source: GP1, used for illustrative purposes under Fair Dealing). Flag marshalling requires concentration, communication and rapid decisions in a safety-critical environment. I performed that role successfully and was excited to return to Goodwood for a second year, this time in the Supercar Paddock. Then a member of the public reported a marshal using cannabis. The report The Report That Began With a Smell I immediately acknowledged that the cannabis was mine and explained that it was legally prescribed for anxiety. I expected that explanation to resolve the concern. Instead, I was removed from post while senior Motorsport UK personnel were contacted. I was eventually permitted to continue in the lower-risk Supercar Paddock while the matter was reviewed. No performance failure or near miss had prompted the intervention. My medicine had become visible because of its smell. An odourless tablet may remain private. Cannabis flower can announce a patient’s treatment before they choose to discuss it. Smell is not evidence of impairment, but it can activate assumptions inherited from cannabis prohibition. That report eventually became much bigger than my individual case. Policy When My Case Became Policy In February 2024, Motorsport UK introduced Version 1 of a new signing-on declaration. It asked officials and marshals to confirm that they did not have disabilities or mental-health conditions, use drugs on the WADA Prohibited List, or take medication that might affect their duties. Motorsport UK later explained that the change followed reports during 2023 involving physical capability, mental health and the “substance use of colleagues”. I recognised myself in two parts of that explanation. Anxiety was my declared mental-health condition. Prescribed cannabis was my treatment, but it was apparently being framed as “substance use”. Although I was not named, the description reflected the defining features of my case. Version 1 of the officials declaration. Version 1 backfired horribly. Disabled volunteers and marshals taking medicines including blood thinners and asthma treatments began questioning whether they were still eligible. Medical cannabis was also independently identified as a problem. Within days, Motorsport UK issued Version 2, returning to a more sensible functional question: did the person’s condition or treatment adversely affect their duties? Version 2 of the officials declaration. But medical cannabis remained explicitly prohibited. My interpretation is that Version 1 attempted to capture cannabis through broad language about mental health, medication, “substance use” and the WADA list without initially announcing a cannabis-specific ban. When that language affected too many other volunteers, it was reversed, but cannabis patients remained excluded. I cannot prove the private intentions of those who wrote the policy. What I can say is that my case was followed by Version 1, the backlash, Version 2 and ultimately a categorical medical cannabis prohibition. Motorsport UK Public UK Licence Suspensions Register. Responsibility The Ban Is Not My Fault, but It Followed My Case I did not ban medical
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