Moves by the NHS to make its own cannabis oil will delay vital treatment for children who need it.
That’s the view of Professor Mike Barnes, who chairs the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society.
Families of children with drug-resistant epilepsy say full-extract cannabis oil is the only treatment that works.
Hannah Deacon with son Alfie Dingley. Hannah says medical cannabis has transformed her son’s life
Alfie Dingley and Sophia Gibson, both eight, are the only two children to have the drug prescribed on the NHS.
No other families able to get cannabis oil prescription
Despite the UK government legalising medical cannabis in November 2018, no other families have been able to get an NHS prescription, says Barnes.
Alfie and Sophia, who both have rare forms of epilepsy, were already getting the drug on emergency licences before the law changed.
Epilepsy is more common in autism than the general population. Research suggests around 20 per cent of people with autism suffer seizures.
NHS plans to make cannabis oil
The Telegraph reported last month (July 2020) that the NHS is planning to make its own cannabis oil.
The NHS would use the drug in a clinical trial for children with severe epilepsy.
But Barnes said this would take a further 18 months. Meanwhile, he said, “good quality product” that must be “hugely cheaper” is already available.
He added: “I just have to also conclude, therefore, that it’s a bit of a delaying tactic to stop the families of children with epilepsy and children with autism, adults as well, from getting the product.”
Parents ‘being failed’
Writing in Metro last month, Alfie’s mum, Hannah Deacon, said “many other parents with chronically ill children are being failed”.
She added: “Access to medical cannabis is still difficult to obtain and families are not being supported the way they need – and deserve – to be.”
Autism Eye asked NHS England to comment, but it did not respond.
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Published: 10 August 2020
