Mother of epileptic boy runs firm that sells cannabis oils
A MOTHER campaigning for medical marijuana to be available on the NHS is the director of a company that sells bottles of cannabis oil for more than £500 each.
Charlotte Caldwell is the sole director of Billy’s Bud Ltd, a cannabis oil company distributor named after her son Billy Caldwell, the boy who was given the first ever NHS prescription to help control his epilepsy.
A spokesman for Mrs Caldwell said profits from sales of the cannabis products, which include oils, capsules, powder, gummies, shots and honey sticks, were used to fund Billy’s 24-7 healthcare needs.
The oil she sells is CBD, a type of cannabis chemical that is legal in Britain because it does not make users high.
It is not the same as the THC variety, which has mind-altering and psychoactive effects, and is currently banned.
Yesterday Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, announced that the Government was willing to review the law on the use of medical cannabis, which could lead to patients in Britain being prescribed drugs from the prohibited plant. Mr Javid was speaking after Lord Hague, the former Conservative leader prompted a debate on legalising the drug completely.
But, speaking to the House of Commons, Mr Javid stressed that the Class B drug would remain banned for recreational use.
Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive, also urged caution. Speaking at the IPPR think tank, he said: “In those countries where marijuana has been decriminalised, often young people, teenagers, come to think of smoking marijuana as safe. Let’s be clear: actually it isn’t.
“It increases the risk of long-term psychiatric problems, such as depression or psychosis, and if you look there are also significant risks to your lungs and many other aspects to our young people’s quality of life.”
The announcement of the review came days after Mr Javid intervened
to permit the use of cannabis oil containing THC to treat severely epileptic 12-year-old Billy, who received hospital treatment for seizures after supplies his mother had brought from Canada were confiscated at Heathrow.
Mrs Caldwell described the aboutturn as “amazing news” which she “applauded”. She added: “We are on the threshold of the next chapter of the history book. The power of the mothers and fathers of sick children has bust the political process wide open and it is on the verge of changing thousands of lives by bringing cannabis laws in line with many other countries.”
Ms Caldwell said she wanted to meet with both the Home and Health Secretaries to “thank them for seeing and hearing sense and joining us in creating history in the United Kingdom”.
Asked if Mrs Caldwell planned to sell THC if it was rescheduled, a spokesman said the process was unlikely to be “straightforward”. The website selling the products is down for maintenance.
Mr Javid told MPS: “We have seen in recent months that there is a pressing need to allow those who might benefit from cannabis-based medicines to access them.”
Mr Javid said that since becoming Home Secretary in April, it had become clear to him that the current legal position on medicinal cannabis was “not satisfactory for the parents, not satisfactory for the doctors and not satisfactory for me”.
But he said: “This step is in no way a first step to the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use.”