Now Minister relaxes ban on cannabis oil used to treat ‘dying’ little Billy
Dramatic U-turn as Home Secretary intervenes to let epileptic boy take cannabis oil medicine
SEVERELY epileptic Billy Caldwell was thrown a lifeline yesterday when the Home Office performed a dramatic U-turn and gave back the boy’s medicinal cannabis – confiscated last week by customs officers at Heathrow Airport.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid stepped in to issue an ‘ urgent’ licence, allowing the 12-year-old to be treated with the illegal cannabis oil, after he was rushed to hospital following a seizure.
The decision followed days in which Billy’s condition deteriorated, apparently because he had been unable to take the medication.
Border officials had seized seven bottles of the oil after he and his mother Charlotte Caldwell flew in from Canada – where it is legal. It
‘It’s been a horrendous and cruel experience’
contains two per cent tetrahydrocannibinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound found in cannabis.
Last night Billy was still in the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where his mother said he was ‘sleeping’, but was expected to be treated with the oil soon.
Mr Javid said: ‘This is a very complex situation, but our immediate priority i s making sure Billy receives the most effective treatment possible in a safe way. We have been in close contact with Billy’s medical team overnight and my decision is based on the advice of senior clinicians who have made clear this is a medical emergency.’
Ms Caldwell, from Castlederg, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, thanked Mr Javid for his ‘compassion’, saying: ‘I truly believe that somewhere in the Home Office there is someone with a heart.’ But she said the week had been ‘a dreadful, horrendous and cruel experience’.
The saga started when, accompanied by a Mail on Sunday journalist, she and Billy flew in from Toronto, where they had seen a world-leading childhood epilepsy expert who had prescribed a six month supply of cannabis oil as an anti-epileptic treatment. Ms Caldwell vowed to declare to customs that she had the illegal oil upon landing, challenging them to leave her alone or arrest her. They did not arrest her – but they did confiscate it.
Later on Monday, she met Policing Minister Nick Hurd, who said drugs laws prevented him from returning it. According to Ms Caldwell, he told her she could apply for a special licence but that might cost £20,000 and take five months. In the meantime, she was given a list of three NHS neurologists to see. Despite efforts, she could not secure an appointment.
During the week Billy’s seizures returned for the first time in 250 days. He had been taking cannabis oil for 19 months, thanks to the family’s GP in Northern Ireland, who had sourced it for him.
But the supply ran out after the Home Office warned the doctor he could be disbarred if he prescribed any more – forcing the Caldwells to fly to Canada. Ms Caldwell said the Home Office has made just one bottle available, to be administered by hospital doctors. Stressing she wanted to push for wider availability of medicinal cannabis, she said: ‘Today this is about Billy. But from tomorrow this is about thousands of other kids and their families.’
Last night, Hannah Deacon, mother of Alfie Dingley, six, who the MoS revealed in February was fighting to access cannabis oil, said it would be ‘unconscionably cruel’ if the Home Office delayed their application for a licence any longer.
Meanwhile, up to a dozen families with epileptic children are planning on flying to Canada to obtain supplies of cannabis oil, so they can test the law afresh.
Ms Caldwell said her battle had ‘ nothing to do with recreational cannabis use’. However, her case has been backed by Paul Birch, a US internet entrepreneur who has openly pushed for full legalisation of cannabis in the UK.
Despite the huge support for Billy, doctors say they are bound not just by the law but also codes of conduct to ensure they only prescribe tested and approved medicines.