Medicinal cannabis seized from mother
A MOTHER who travelled to Spain to get medical cannabis oil for her seriously ill daughter was held for two hours by Customs officials in Dublin Airport while the oil was confiscated when she returned yesterday.
Vera Twomey, from Cork, went to a clinic in Barcelona to obtain a three-month supply of cannabisbased medicine for her daughter Ava, aged seven, who suffers from Dravet syndrome which causes severe seizures. Ms Twomey declared she had the medicine when she landed back in Ireland.
She said: ‘I have nothing to be ashamed about, I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m looking for medication for my child that’s available worldwide. There’s huge amounts of evidence that it’s safe and it works and I need it for my child, that’s why I did it.
‘I wasn’t caught by Customs officers, I declared myself.’
Ms Twomey, who travelled to Spain with People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny and MEP Luke Flanagan, said she wasn’t tempted to smuggle the medicine, which is illegal in Ireland, into the country, saying: ‘We shouldn’t have to behave in a clandestine way, sneaking it into Ireland.’
The devoted mother said Health Minister Simon Harris’s plans for a compassionate access programme to allow patients access to a greater range of medicines won’t address her Ava’s needs. She said: ‘He’s offering medicine that doesn’t work as well, it’s not good enough. You’re being treated with products that are second class.’ As Ms Twomey, who was released without charge, risked arrest, 11-yearold Billy Caldwell, from Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, who has a rare form of epilepsy, became the first person in the UK to be given the green light to be treated by the drug.
His treatment is provided by Dr James Linden of Greenlight Medicines in Dublin. Ms Twomey said she’s not frustrated to learn another child is receiving the treatment she has fought for. She said: ‘Not at all, because the company providing that medication weren’t providing a product that was suitable for my daughter. I have found what I need in Barcelona.’