Medical marijuana back at the centre of debate after cannabis oil medicine is returned to Billy Caldwell

After careful consideration, the Home Office returned anti-epileptic medicine, containing cannabis oil, back to 12-year old patient, Billy Caldwell, but this case has put the issue of medical marijuana back at the centre of a national debate…

In this latest case, the 12-year old patient, Caldwell, suffers from severe seizures as a result of epilepsy, which were difficult to control with usual anti-epilepsy medication. Alternative treatment was found overseas in the form of cannabis treatment, which they had managed to get on prescription in Northern Ireland until the doctor was recently told to stop by the Home Office.

Although the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had issued an opinion stating that products containing cannabidiol (CBD) oil are considered medicines, the raw form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is still considered illegal. The medication Caldwell had confiscated at Heathrow airport contained both CBD and THC.

However, this case has prompted calls for a change in the law on cannabis and not solely for medicinal use. As we are seeing in Canada there is a movement towards the legalisation of the drug for recreational use as well and according to the former conservative leader, Lord William Hague, the UK should be considering a change in law also.

Writing in the Telegraph, Hague stated that Caldwell’s case ‘provides one of those illuminating moments when a longstanding policy is revealed to be inappropriate, ineffective and utterly out of date.’

“A major change in policy is therefore necessary,” he wrote. “The licensing of medical products, such as Billy Caldwell’s oil, is already allowed in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands and most of the US. Adopting the same approach would be a step forward.”

Responding to this recent case and ongoing debate around cannabis-based medicines, Professor Alex Stevens from the School of Social Policy Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent (who is also a member of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) stated: “The home secretary's decision to allow Billy Caldwell to receive the cannabis-based medicine that he needs to treat his epilepsy is welcome. But it comes only after confiscation of the medicine his mother had bought for him led to Billy having seizures so severe that he had to be rushed to hospital. It also raises questions about how the government will handle other similar cases, and about its own hypocrisy on this issue.

“Many other children, including Alfie Dingley and those represented by the Families 4 Access campaign also suffer due to the government's refusal to allow the use of medicines derived from cannabis. So far, the government has not allowed them access to the medicine they need.

“This is despite the fact that the husbands of both the Prime Minister Theresa May and of drugs minister Victoria Atkins profit from the production of cannabis for medical purposes. Theresa May's husband Philip is a senior executive of an investment firm which is the biggest shareholder in GW Pharma*, which grows cannabis in Kent for a different medicine. Victoria Atkins’ husband Paul Kenward is the managing director of British Sugar, which grows cannabis under contract for GW Pharma.

“The government is clearly worried that the medical issue may be used as a wedge to drive through wider reforms on cannabis, as has occurred in other countries. But it should not force families and children to suffer just because it does not want to engage in open discussions of what this country's laws on cannabis should be.”

*GW Pharmaceuticals Sativex, a spray containing THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio along with other components, is used in the treatment of spasticity due to MS. This treatment has received marketing authorisation in 21 countries, including the UK. The company also has another therapy in its pipeline (Epidiolex) that will specifically be used for children with debilitating seizure disorder, which has been fast-tracked by the US Food and Drug Administration.