Championing Medical Cannabis and Holistic Health – Exclusive Interview With Berta Kaguako
- Brainz Magazine
- Apr 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 13
Berta Kaguako is a Health and Social Care Consultant with an Undergraduate in Psychotherapy and Masters in Psychoanalysis. Berta’s background is in Mental Health, Substance Misuse and Children & Families: in both a therapeutic and senior management capacity, having won 3x Blooming Strong Awards (Recognition from UN for contribution to violence against Women).
Berta is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director for EthVida, and independently runs the wellbeing service / educational platform.
Berta Kaguako, Health and Social Care Consultant
What is your work inspired by?
On 11th December 2021, I will never forget that day because it is the day my whole world was flipped upside down. After contracting COVID for the 3rd time, I fell violently ill and developed long COVID, and as a result, all of my underlying health issues were yanked out of remission and progressed. That was the last day of my life. I have nine diagnoses: arthritis, fibromyalgia, long COVID, hemianesthesia, TBI, Morton’s neuroma, syrinx C6/C7 spine, bilateral sciatica, POTs, and suffer with over 50 symptoms. I was bedridden, and my life can only be described as existing in agony every day, with little to no relief using pharmaceutical medications. What made my experience even more tragic with the little to no support I received from healthcare professionals, who often dismissed how I was feeling.
I was lost, I felt hopeless, and I attempted suicide as a result. Thankfully, that did not work, and it empowered me to look for other options to managing my healthcare and seeking additional mental health support. As a result, I discovered Medical Cannabis and my life was transformed, I was able to completely come off 8 of 9 prescriptions and replace them with medical cannabis and get 75% symptom relief. This enabled me to fight for my healthcare, get specialist referrals, and engage with services, as well as implement a holistic approach, i.e., diet, exercise, mindfulness, etc. The combination of cannabis medications and applying a holistic approach enabled me to get 75% improvement in health and a significant reduction in my daily pain, inflammation, and ability to walk. I came off my walking stick, sleeping better, back in the gym and lifting weights, back in work, socialising again, I am living and no longer existing. I never thought during the last 4 years that I would ever be in this place again, and every day I continue to improve on my health and wellbeing.
What specific goals/vision do you aim to achieve?
I am a health and social care consultant working in the children and family sector as a mental health and substance misuse consultant. I also sit as a panel member for primary and secondary school appeals and consult in the medical cannabis sector in the UK. I set up EthVida, a non-profit organisation, to help bring awareness to medical cannabis and applying a holistic healthcare approach. I used my professional background to create content on medical cannabis and holistic healthcare, as well as formulating self-help guides patients can utilise to start their wellness journey.
My patient experience doesn’t capture the horrors of the past 4 years of my life and the drastic lifestyle changes I have had to make as a result. And alone. The scariest part is knowing that I am not the only one going through this; millions of others are experiencing what I went through or worse, with little to no respite. This is why I set up EthVida. I want to support these patients and be the shoulder I needed when I was in that situation. I want to be able to help them access the necessary tools to support them to overcome their predicament and get the best quality of life they can for themselves. I also want to educate the masses in an effort to destigmatise plant medicine, to enable accessibility, and to reduce judgement for existing patients.
EthVida have also just been nominated for the UK StartUp Awards for Social Enterprise of the Year 2025.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
If I could change anything, it would be to have cannabis based medical products integrated into existing healthcare services, and in the UK, that is the NHS (National Health Services). At present, Cannabis based medical products are largely available via private clinics, meaning patients would have to pay, rather than accessing them free or at cost via the NHS.
With Cannabis based medical products being available on the NHS, not only will this enable patients who are a bit hesitant to feel more confident exploring this as a viable treatment option. This will also support with costs. At present patients are paying an average of £300 - £400, on what can be considered for a lot of us patients, a life changing medication. This also creates barriers for patients from lower socio-economic backgrounds to obtain this medication. Overall, I do not believe people should not have to put themselves in financial hardship to get beneficial healthcare support, especially when you are going through the worst period of your life!
Conclusion (next steps)
This is why I am very excited to be collaborating with Brainz Magazine and using their platform to help spread awareness of plant medicine.
Follow my monthly article segments, The Cannabis Chronicles, where we will explore medical cannabis, the science behind it, and, most importantly, patient experiences. Our segments will largely focus on patient testimonials as they navigate us through their journey as a patient and some of the criticism or barriers they experience as a patient using cannabis based medical products.
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