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 The case has ignited a debate about the medicinal use of cannabis, a
drug which is illegal in Britain and which the British authorities
do not recognize as having any medicinal benefits.
Billy Caldwell, 12, had been receiving medicinal cannabis oil on
prescription by his doctor for just over a year, but supplies ran
out after the Home Office (interior ministry) ordered the doctor to
stop prescribing it.
Billy's mother, Charlotte Caldwell, says that without the cannabis
oil her son has up to 100 seizures a day, each of which is
potentially fatal.
Mother and son, who live in the British province of Northern
Ireland, flew to Canada over the weekend to get some more of the
medication, but it was seized when they arrived at London's Heathrow
Airport on Monday morning.
"I’m just going to turn around and go get some more, and keep doing
so until the UK authorities see sense," Charlotte Caldwell said in a
statement. "I take the view that I’d rather have my son illegally
alive than legally dead. This is the scenario that the phrase ‘no
brainer’ was invented for.”
The Home Office said it was sympathetic to what it called the
difficult and rare situation of Billy Caldwell and his family, but
the border force had a duty to stop banned substances from entering
Britain.
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Under British law, cannabis is listed as a schedule 1 drug, meaning
that it is not recognized as having a therapeutic value. Schedule 1
drugs can be used for research purposes and clinical trials, but
only under a Home Office license.
The Home Office invited Charlotte Caldwell to meet Nick Hurd, a
junior minister in charge of policing, to discuss the issue.
Caldwell has received support from Dan Poulter, a member of
parliament from the ruling Conservative Party.
"The current law is ridiculous; there is growing evidence that
cannabis products used medically can be helpful in treating a number
of conditions, but yet it is still seen through the prism of
illegality here in the UK," Poulter was quoted as saying in a
statement from Caldwell's representatives.
"It is simply inhumane that Billy's medication, which is legal in
many other countries across the world, has been confiscated."
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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