UK returns cannabis oil for boy's epilepsy treatment

The British government has changed course in a case concerning cannabis oil, saying an epileptic boy can be treated with it after his mother said he needed it to survive severe seizures.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he had agreed to urgently issue a licence to allow Billy Caldwell, a 12‑year‑old from Northern Ireland, to be treated with the oil.

He said his decision was based on advice from senior doctors who say that Caldwell, who was hospitalised overnight in London, faces a medical emergency.

Cannabis oil is banned in Britain. Border Force agents seized it from Charlotte Caldwell, the boy's mother, when she tried to bring it into London's Heathrow Airport from Canada, where she obtained it legally.

She said Billy suffered two severe seizures overnight and that the cannabis oil is the only substance that can prevent life‑threatening seizures for him. He began the treatment in the United States legally two years ago.

The case has revived the debate over medical marijuana use in Britain.

[Source:Stuff.co.nz]