A SCOTTISH mother whose son has severe epilepsy joined other parents to present a £230,000 bill to the Department of Health in London yesterday.
The sum represents the amount the families have spent on medicinal cannabis. They will also visit Downing Street to deliver a letter asking Boris Johnson to take “immediate action” to give them access to the drug on the NHS.
Karen Gray, 44, uses cannabis-derived medicine to treat her son, Murray, aged seven. She has spent about £8000 legally importing two forms of cannabis oil from Holland by way of a private prescription.
Medical cannabis containing the psychoactive component Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been made legal in the UK but patients say they are struggling to obtain NHS prescriptions.
READ MORE: SNP MP seeks meeting with Boris Johnson over medical cannabis
Gray said she feared Murray, a pupil at Clermiston Primary School in Edinburgh, “was going to die” until a Dutch doctor prescribed a drug containing THC.
Murray began one treatment in March and another in May and has now gone 204 days without a seizure. His mother said: “We were handing in a giant invoice to the Department of Health to show them how much we’ve jointly spent on sourcing much-needed medical cannabis for our children.
“We saw Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, six months ago. He knew we needed help immediately and couldn’t wait ‘several months’, but he’s since done nothing to help us. So, we’re going down to ask Boris Johnson to intervene immediately for some urgent action. I’ve spent more than £8000, £1200 per month, and it’s like an extra mortgage. I’m having to raise funds and rely on family and the generosity of the public to help my son. We’ve done alright so far, but that’s not going to last forever.”
READ MORE: Hope that family may get medicinal cannabis back
Gray will also meet Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman next month to see if there is anything the Scottish Government can do to help.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The law has been changed to allow specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products where clinically appropriate and there is a clear consensus on the need for more evidence to support these prescribing decisions.
“Government is urgently working with the health system, industry, and researchers to improve the evidence base to provide clinicians with further support and guidance on prescribing where clinically appropriate.”
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