This stupid law has to be changed
CANNABIS was a medicine in the UK until 1971, when it was banned to stop recreational use.
But it didn’t do a very good job because while in 1971 half a million people had used cannabis, nearly 50 years on over 20 million people have used cannabis.
And not only did the ban increase recreational use, it also stopped research for medical treatments.
One of the saddest things about Billy Caldwell’s case is that British scientists discovered that cannabis oil was anti-convulsive 20 years ago. But this was never developed because all we want to do is stop people using cannabis recreationally.
The UK has a higher level of recreational use of cannabis than in countries where it’s legal.
A Dutch boy can come into Britain today with cannabis oil to treat his epilepsy and be allowed to live a normal life in Britain with his prescription from Holland.
But Billy can die because of fears that if his GP prescribes him cannabis oil everyone will start taking it.
Billy has proven that for him, cannabis oil is a medicine. So he should have it. There’s no evidence he has been taking enough THC to get stoned, but he is not allowed to take it.
Not only is the UK denying patients a life-saving medicine, it is denying the NHS huge savings. It’s estimated legalising medical marijuana would save the NHS €2-3billion a year because it would treat so many conditions that are currently treated by expensive drugs and it would keep people out of hospital.
It costs €11,000 to have Billy in intensive care every day. It really is time the law was changed.