Baron23
Well-Known Member
We will be there!! hahaha
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Law United Kingdom
- Thread starter Baron23
- Start date
We will be there!! hahaha
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
Press release
Expert panel to advise on medicinal cannabis licence applications
(https://www.gov.uk)
Expert panel to advise on medicinal cannabis licence applications
(https://www.gov.uk)
An expert panel of clinicians set up to advise ministers on medicinal cannabis licence applications has started accepting applications.
Published 27 June 2018
From:
Home Office
From today (27 June) an expert panel will begin accepting applications from senior clinicians to prescribe cannabis-based medicines.
Announced in Parliament last week by the Policing Minister, the panel will be led by the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride.
The panel, who will meet for the first time this week, will assess individual applications for the prescription of cannabis-based products based upon set criteria to ensure the treatment is safe. These applications must be made by senior clinicians who are on the General Medical Council’s register with an active licence to practice.
The process has been designed to be swift and accessible. Once the panel has made its recommendation to ministers, it will be for the Home Office or the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to determine whether to issue a licence and any application can expect to receive a final decision within 2 to 4 weeks.
The government is also committed to reviewing the fees paid for licences that are awarded as a result of the advice of the expert panel.
Policing Minister Nick Hurd said:
I completely sympathise with the families who have been facing desperate situations to find treatment and we have taken action, creating an expert panel to review individual medicinal cannabis licence applications.
Clinicians must be at the heart of the process to provide the reassurance that prescribing unlicensed and potentially untested products is in the best interests of the patient.
I look forward to receiving the expert panel’s recommendations in the knowledge that these families will be prescribed the most appropriate course of treatment, firmly based on medical evidence. We have been clear that we will continue to push hard against any unnecessary bureaucracy in the system.
Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland Dr Michael McBride said:
The establishment of this panel means that applications from patients’ doctors to prescribe, supply and provide access to cannabis-related medicines can now be considered and endorsed on the basis of best clinical practice in order to ensure safe and appropriate care for patients.
The government also committed today to urgently reviewing the fees paid for licences that are awarded as a result of the advice of the expert panel. In the meantime, for applications for a licence made by the NHS, neither individual patients nor their families will be asked to make any financial contribution towards the cost of any licence that may be issued.
Last week the Home Secretary also announced a 2-part review looking at the scheduling of cannabis, which will be carried out by Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies and the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs. The expert panel is an interim measure while the review is ongoing.
The Home Secretary received part one of the review today [27 June] and will commission part 2 from the ACMD within the next few days. If this review identifies significant medicinal and therapeutic benefits, then the intention would be to reschedule medicinal cannabis and related products for therapeutic use.
Notes about the application process:
Clinical applications can be made on GOV.UK.
Applications must be made by senior clinicians who are on the General Medical Council’s relevant specialist register with an active licence to practice.
The panel will assess applications against several criteria. They are:
- whether there is evidence from a patient’s own case that they have benefited from a cannabis-based medicine, or
- whether there is evidence from existing clinical trials which indicate that a patient will benefit from a cannabis-based medicine, or
- whether the clinician considers there is an otherwise unmet special clinical need that could be addressed through use of a cannabis-based medicine by the patient
Baron23
Well-Known Member
I find this very disappointing. My last career position before retiring was with a small British telecom software company that I loved working for. Stressful but extraordinarily competent and, I believe, the influence of the UK home base contributed greatly to the very polite and logical environment we had there. Hysterical bloviation was considered an embarrassment.
It hurts me to see the UK reacting in such a inhumane way and the conflict of interests, and the hypocrisy that's invested in it, are truly abhorrent.
UK: Parents attack govt. over criminalization of medical cannabis
The British government is “making it illegal to save our children,” the parent of a three-year-old epileptic boy said as the debate over the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes rages on.
Tommy McNally, whose son Mason suffers from epilepsy, told RT’s Going Underground program there is a “clear difference” between legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes and allowing those in need to access medicinal varieties.
“This is medical cannabis to save people’s lives, there is no argument against it,” McNally told GU’s deputy editor Sebastian Pacher.
Describing how his son had to be put in a coma after his last seizure lasted three-hours and kept him from breathing for six, McNally said: “This government are making it illegal to save our children. What parent in the world would not want to cure their child with a natural drug?”
Cannabis is an illegal class B drug in the UK, with possession carrying an unlimited fine and up to five years in jail, while the sentencing for those that deal the drug can be reach up to 14 years.
“The government is making it illegal. I either get arrested for dealing with drugs or my son dies. The government cannot consciously put us into this position anymore.”
McNally’s comments come as a debate over the legalization of medical cannabis hit Parliament after 12-year-old epileptic boy Bill Cadwell had his supply of cannabis oil confiscated from the Home Office earlier this month.
Caldwell’s mother Charlotte said her son, who became the first person in the UK to be prescribed cannabis oil by a GP, relied on the substance for his chronic illness.
Non-profit organization Bud Buddies, which illegally produces medical cannabis for people across the UK, told Pacher he is providing an alternative to “fake and dangerous oils” that parents find online.
“We are very medical and scientific in what we do. Just because we are illegal, doesn’t mean we should be unethical about it,” Jeff Ditchfield, founder of Bud Buddies, said.
“If the government are interested in protecting the public and protecting vulnerable kids, then change the law so oncologists and consultants can prescribe this to these kids and I don’t have to be a criminal, no one in Bud Buddies will have to be a criminal and parents won’t have to be a criminal. And that needs to change now.”
Despite the UK banning any use of the drug, the UN found the country is the largest producer of cannabis, 2.1 tonnes being exported by British companies in 2016 – roughly exporting 70 percent of the world’s total.
It was also recently revealed that GW Pharmaceuticals, which has a license to grow and export cannabis, has as one of its suppliers British Sugar, whose managing director is the husband of a Home Office minister responsible for drug policy, Victoria Akins. The minister has, since the news broke, “voluntarily recused herself from policy or decisions relating to cannabis,” the Home Office has said.
Connections to GW go right to Number 10 and UK PM Theresa May whose husband, Philip, works for Capital Group – the largest investor in GW Pharmaceuticals. On that matter, McNally said: “It’s such hypocrisy. It just kills me. They are allowing a pharmaceutical company to make £1.6 billion over 20 years to sell cannabis for profit and profit themselves and I can’t give my son cannabis to save his life.”
Baroness Walmsley, Vice chair on all-parliamentary group on drug policy reform, said: “It’s quite wrong that patients and parents of patients should be turned into criminals when all they are trying to do is do their best for their own health or their children’s health. This is wrong, it is very very out of date, decades out of date.”
She went on to say ministers have for the past nine months acted in “good faith”.
“But they have by advice by officials been very reluctant to do anything other than try and operate the system that is in place at the moment. But the problem is that the system […] at the moment is not fit for purpose.”
The recent high-profile cases of children needing medical cannabis prompted the government to announce a review of the drug’s scheduling. The Home Office secretary Sajid Javid said the position “we find ourselves in currently is not satisfactory”.
It hurts me to see the UK reacting in such a inhumane way and the conflict of interests, and the hypocrisy that's invested in it, are truly abhorrent.
UK: Parents attack govt. over criminalization of medical cannabis
The British government is “making it illegal to save our children,” the parent of a three-year-old epileptic boy said as the debate over the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes rages on.
Tommy McNally, whose son Mason suffers from epilepsy, told RT’s Going Underground program there is a “clear difference” between legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes and allowing those in need to access medicinal varieties.
“This is medical cannabis to save people’s lives, there is no argument against it,” McNally told GU’s deputy editor Sebastian Pacher.
Describing how his son had to be put in a coma after his last seizure lasted three-hours and kept him from breathing for six, McNally said: “This government are making it illegal to save our children. What parent in the world would not want to cure their child with a natural drug?”
Cannabis is an illegal class B drug in the UK, with possession carrying an unlimited fine and up to five years in jail, while the sentencing for those that deal the drug can be reach up to 14 years.
“The government is making it illegal. I either get arrested for dealing with drugs or my son dies. The government cannot consciously put us into this position anymore.”
McNally’s comments come as a debate over the legalization of medical cannabis hit Parliament after 12-year-old epileptic boy Bill Cadwell had his supply of cannabis oil confiscated from the Home Office earlier this month.
Caldwell’s mother Charlotte said her son, who became the first person in the UK to be prescribed cannabis oil by a GP, relied on the substance for his chronic illness.
Non-profit organization Bud Buddies, which illegally produces medical cannabis for people across the UK, told Pacher he is providing an alternative to “fake and dangerous oils” that parents find online.
“We are very medical and scientific in what we do. Just because we are illegal, doesn’t mean we should be unethical about it,” Jeff Ditchfield, founder of Bud Buddies, said.
“If the government are interested in protecting the public and protecting vulnerable kids, then change the law so oncologists and consultants can prescribe this to these kids and I don’t have to be a criminal, no one in Bud Buddies will have to be a criminal and parents won’t have to be a criminal. And that needs to change now.”
Despite the UK banning any use of the drug, the UN found the country is the largest producer of cannabis, 2.1 tonnes being exported by British companies in 2016 – roughly exporting 70 percent of the world’s total.
It was also recently revealed that GW Pharmaceuticals, which has a license to grow and export cannabis, has as one of its suppliers British Sugar, whose managing director is the husband of a Home Office minister responsible for drug policy, Victoria Akins. The minister has, since the news broke, “voluntarily recused herself from policy or decisions relating to cannabis,” the Home Office has said.
Connections to GW go right to Number 10 and UK PM Theresa May whose husband, Philip, works for Capital Group – the largest investor in GW Pharmaceuticals. On that matter, McNally said: “It’s such hypocrisy. It just kills me. They are allowing a pharmaceutical company to make £1.6 billion over 20 years to sell cannabis for profit and profit themselves and I can’t give my son cannabis to save his life.”
Baroness Walmsley, Vice chair on all-parliamentary group on drug policy reform, said: “It’s quite wrong that patients and parents of patients should be turned into criminals when all they are trying to do is do their best for their own health or their children’s health. This is wrong, it is very very out of date, decades out of date.”
She went on to say ministers have for the past nine months acted in “good faith”.
“But they have by advice by officials been very reluctant to do anything other than try and operate the system that is in place at the moment. But the problem is that the system […] at the moment is not fit for purpose.”
The recent high-profile cases of children needing medical cannabis prompted the government to announce a review of the drug’s scheduling. The Home Office secretary Sajid Javid said the position “we find ourselves in currently is not satisfactory”.
Kellya86
Herb Gardener.....
I would love you to be... maybe one day we may all meet...
Its happening.. its actually happening...
This is brilliant news... not for rec stoners, but for families in desperate need to help their children...
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
I know right, about fucking time. Rec would be nice but quite frankly I don't think it will happen for some time. But the fact that medical users, real people with real medical issues that are dependant upon their govt, care staff and health system are finally not only getting a voice but recognition (dare I say reconciliation) in this long over due debate.
I would not recommend trying to buy cannabis in France. You're better off, much better off traveling with edibles or some type of canna pill mixed in with prescribed meds. If in a private home and offered a smoke I would say that's good, go for it.
In my experience in 'most' of Europe hash is the order of the day. Most of the weed is just that. Weed. African grown mountain/bush weed that tastes like dried lawn clippings. Not worth the headache.That's not to say you can't get good stuffs in Europe, but it helps if you know someone. One thing, is traveling by train can be good. Especially if visiting Amsterdam about a 3 and a half hour ride to Paris.
Wishing you safe travels.
Last edited:
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
I will get some CBD oil to hold me over?
NO TRAIN this trip?
Baron23
Well-Known Member
Yeah, but only because they were publically shamed and pulled to it yelling and screaming every inch of the way. "Oh, let's let some kid go into a coma from lack of CBD and THEN we will consider doing something about it".
Hate these fucking suck on the public tit politician mofo's.
England’s medical cannabis wall is tumbling down
Faced with the exigent needs of really sick kids, the government of England has said it is preparing to allow emergency use of medical cannabis within the next two weeks.
English patients who could benefit from cannabinoid therapies have little access to the types of formulations found in established medical cannabis markets like Canada, California, or Colorado. Meanwhile, Europe as a wholeis flocking toward making medical cannabis therapies more available.
According to local reports, the issue has come into focus in England over several pediatric epilepsy cases like Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell, a 12 year-old Northern Ireland pediatric epilepsy patient.
British authorities seized Caldwell’s medication at London Heathrow Airport, sending him into a cascade of seizures requiring emergency attention. After Caldwell almost immediately suffered a seizure that hospitalized him, authorities gave him back his cannabidiol-rich medication—a high-CBD, low-THC mixture made by Canadian licensed producer Tilrayand obtained during a trip to Canada. [Editor’s note: Tilray is owned by Privateer Holdings, a private equity firm that also owns Leafly.]
Starting in two weeks, doctors will be able to order cannabis medicines on an emergency basis. It’s not clear how many will be willing to do that. Patients must show “exceptional clinical need” and doctors—who aren’t generally trained on the endocannabinoid system—could reportedly be liable for patient outcomes.
This week, musician and activist Damian Marley joined with physicians to call on England to fully legalize medical cannabis.
Hate these fucking suck on the public tit politician mofo's.
England’s medical cannabis wall is tumbling down
Faced with the exigent needs of really sick kids, the government of England has said it is preparing to allow emergency use of medical cannabis within the next two weeks.
English patients who could benefit from cannabinoid therapies have little access to the types of formulations found in established medical cannabis markets like Canada, California, or Colorado. Meanwhile, Europe as a wholeis flocking toward making medical cannabis therapies more available.
According to local reports, the issue has come into focus in England over several pediatric epilepsy cases like Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell, a 12 year-old Northern Ireland pediatric epilepsy patient.
British authorities seized Caldwell’s medication at London Heathrow Airport, sending him into a cascade of seizures requiring emergency attention. After Caldwell almost immediately suffered a seizure that hospitalized him, authorities gave him back his cannabidiol-rich medication—a high-CBD, low-THC mixture made by Canadian licensed producer Tilrayand obtained during a trip to Canada. [Editor’s note: Tilray is owned by Privateer Holdings, a private equity firm that also owns Leafly.]
Starting in two weeks, doctors will be able to order cannabis medicines on an emergency basis. It’s not clear how many will be willing to do that. Patients must show “exceptional clinical need” and doctors—who aren’t generally trained on the endocannabinoid system—could reportedly be liable for patient outcomes.
This week, musician and activist Damian Marley joined with physicians to call on England to fully legalize medical cannabis.
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
Home Office Recognises Medical Cannabis’ Therapeutic Benefits But Dismisses The Right To Grow (https://ukcsc.co.uk/)
The Home Office’s recent promise to review policy on the medical use of cannabis has, as promised, been turned around quickly. Carried out by Professor Dame Sally Davies, it predictably brings good news and bad for patients who rely on cannabis for medicinal purposes.
The main takeaway from this “review of contemporary reviews” is the recommendation that the “whole class of cannabis based medicinal products be moved out of Schedule 1”.
This represents a limited but significant victory. Drugs in Schedule 1 are considered to have little or no therapeutic value and are therefore not available to be prescribed or held legally with a prescription. It is likely that cannabis based medicinal products will therefore be recategorised into Schedule 2, 3, 4 or 5, which make it legal to possess a drug with a valid prescription from a registered medical practitioner. Sativex, which uses a specific extract of cannabis and is prescribed for spasticity in MS, is currently controlled under Schedule 4.
However, the Dame’s review “does not consider the use of medicinal cannabis products for non-medicinal or recreational purposes, or where those wishing to provide cannabis based medicinal products are not registered medical practitioners”. It therefore does not address the right to grow.
In fact it rules the prospect out:
“Cannabis has many active chemicals and only cannabis or derivatives produced for medical use can be assumed to have the correct concentrations and ratios. Using other forms, such as grown or street cannabis, as medicine for therapeutic benefit is potentially dangerous. The evidence that cannabis and some of its derivatives can be addictive and harmful has been known for some time and is not disputed by recent science, so I believe the reasons it is a controlled drug in the UK stand.
“Because different forms of grown cannabis have different concentrations and ratios of THC, grown or street cannabis cannot safely be substituted for medicinal cannabis.”
Denying the right to grow obviously shows distrust in patients’ ability to self-medicate, and denies them the ability to medicate at a low cost.
However, back on the positive side of things, the report recognises that
“there is now conclusive evidence of the therapeutic benefit of cannabis based medicinal products for certain medical conditions and reasonable evidence of therapeutic benefit in several other medical conditions. This evidence has been reviewed in whole or part, and considered robust, by some of the leading international scientific and regulatory bodies, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO). As Schedule 1 drugs by definition have little or no therapeutic potential, it is therefore now clear that from a scientific point of view keeping cannabis based medicinal products in Schedule 1 is very difficult to defend. Moreover, I believe that it would not make sense to move cannabis and its derivatives out of Schedule 1 whilst leaving synthetic cannabinoids, which the evidence suggests have potentially greater therapeutic benefit and less potential for harm, in Schedule 1. I therefore recommend that the whole class of cannabis based medicinal products be moved out of Schedule 1.
“Moving these drugs out of Schedule 1 would allow them to be prescribed under controlled conditions by registered practitioners for medical benefit. In addition, moving the whole class of cannabis based medicinal products out of Schedule 1, will allow the evidence base on the therapeutic benefits associated with using this class of drugs to be improved through research, maximising benefits to patients.”
Given the particularly backward conservatism of UK politics, it is no surprise that the government is unmoved on recreational use and the right to grow. However, this was only Part 1 of the Cannabis Scheduling Review, and it recommends that the UK government should now carry out its own research to determine which kinds of medicinal cannabis are beneficial for different types of medical conditions.
The UKCSC will continue to make the right to grow a central demand of the legalisation movement.
Baron23
Well-Known Member
“Cannabis has many active chemicals and only cannabis or derivatives produced for medical use can be assumed to have the correct concentrations and ratios. Using other forms, such as grown or street cannabis, as medicine for therapeutic benefit is potentially dangerous. The evidence that cannabis and some of its derivatives can be addictive and harmful has been known for some time and is not disputed by recent science, so I believe the reasons it is a controlled drug in the UK stand.
“Because different forms of grown cannabis have different concentrations and ratios of THC, grown or street cannabis cannot safely be substituted for medicinal cannabis.”
“Because different forms of grown cannabis have different concentrations and ratios of THC, grown or street cannabis cannot safely be substituted for medicinal cannabis.”
IMO the first underlined section above is a total bollocks. Just unadulterated BS.
As for the second underlined section, I will bet Dame Davies anything her little heart desires that in ANY location in the UK that she wishes to name that I will, within a given time period, find at least an order of magnitude more alcoholics (alcohol addicts) than MJ addicts.
Yeah?
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
England the most scientists come from there?
Comedy is a part of life?
Music is so advanced!
Drinking alcohol & PUb`s are part of society?
CANNABIS is harmless?
Where is da logic?
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
Yeh i couldn't agree more.
The whole statement relating to "other forms" being dangerous and "cannabis is addictive blah blah blah" just made me cringe.
I'm delighted things are moving forward for those that really need it but expect lots of grey area bullshit propaganda to flood uk media as the government attempt to gain support in limiting access as much as possible.
These people aren't stupid, they are crooks. They know what they spout is total BS but as seen in other articles there are MP's with direct ties to business interests that don't want to give up control of the cannabis market.
Kellya86
Herb Gardener.....
I was glad to see it in the news again this morning..
Any attention on the matter is all good right now..
They are now realising that they are gonna have to make it more available to more more people...
Now that they have done their u-turn from harmfull and dangerous with no med benefits, to admitting it has profound medical benefits, they are going to have to make it available to a much wider range of patients...
It should also not be a last resort..
Cannabis should not be used after aggressive opiates have failed.. I'm not saying it should be the first port of call, but certainly in the middle somewhere... we shouldn't have to exhaust all other options before we can access it...
Any attention on the matter is all good right now..
They are now realising that they are gonna have to make it more available to more more people...
Now that they have done their u-turn from harmfull and dangerous with no med benefits, to admitting it has profound medical benefits, they are going to have to make it available to a much wider range of patients...
It should also not be a last resort..
Cannabis should not be used after aggressive opiates have failed.. I'm not saying it should be the first port of call, but certainly in the middle somewhere... we shouldn't have to exhaust all other options before we can access it...
Baron23
Well-Known Member
And before we celebrate too much progress in the UK and its government's return to rationality, let's read this article.....just frakin asinine.
Cannabis oil row: Billy Caldwell 'under hospital arrest', says mother
Conditions imposed by health authorities anger mother of boy with epilepsy and autism
Billy Caldwell, the autistic boy with epilepsy whose family was granted a licence for cannabis oil to treat his illness, has been “placed under hospital arrest”, according to his mother, due to conditions imposed by the Northern Irish authorities.
On Thursday, it was announced that the 12-year-old was heading home to Co Tyrone where he could be legally treated with a cannabis-based medicine.
But Belfast Trust, which will be responsible for providing the anti-epileptic seizure medicine, has said it will only administer the treatment at a hospital in Belfast, forcing the family to make a four-hour round trip from their home in Castlederg, twice a day, his mother said.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said arrangements to administer the treatment to the boy had been replicated from his stay at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London.
But his mother, Charlotte Caldwell, said: “Billy has effectively been placed under hospital arrest.
“The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has refused to release Billy’s meds, which have to stay at or near a hospital in Belfast, for the duration of Billy’s treatment, which is basically for the rest of his life – or until somebody sees sense.
“This is completely at odds with the view of the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, which said he could go home, and the Home Office, which recommended he did.”
After a public outcry over the confiscation of the medicine at Heathrow airport, the home secretary, Sajid Javid, granted a licence for cannabis oil to be administered to the boy at home.
Following uncertainty over whether the Northern Irish authorities would follow the Home Office’s lead, it was announced on Thursday that the region’s Department of Health had issued an emergency licence so he could continue his treatment.
Caldwell added: “Billy needs his meds at 10am and 8pm each day. It takes a few seconds to administer. “I know far more about administering his meds than the hospital; I’ve been doing it for years.
Sajid Javid looks into easing rules on medical cannabis prescription
Read more
“It’s utterly crazy that Billy is being subjected to this sort of child abuse. He’s autistic; he needs the familiar, he needs his own bed, his toys, his garden. We just want to be home. As it stands, we have to either move to Belfast or make two four-hour round trips twice a day from home in Castlederg.”
In a statement given to the Belfast Telegraph, the Northern Ireland Department of Health said: “Yesterday [we] received an emergency licence application from Belfast Trust clinicians regarding medicinal cannabis use for Billy Caldwell. An emergency licence has today been issued by the department, replicating the licence issued last month by the Home Office for treatment at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London.
“We have also been in discussions with the Home Office to finalise arrangements for the immediate transportation of Billy’s medicine from London to the Belfast trust.”
"it will only administer the treatment at a hospital in Belfast, forcing the family to make a four-hour round trip from their home in Castlederg, twice a day, his mother said."
Cannabis oil row: Billy Caldwell 'under hospital arrest', says mother
Conditions imposed by health authorities anger mother of boy with epilepsy and autism
Billy Caldwell, the autistic boy with epilepsy whose family was granted a licence for cannabis oil to treat his illness, has been “placed under hospital arrest”, according to his mother, due to conditions imposed by the Northern Irish authorities.
On Thursday, it was announced that the 12-year-old was heading home to Co Tyrone where he could be legally treated with a cannabis-based medicine.
But Belfast Trust, which will be responsible for providing the anti-epileptic seizure medicine, has said it will only administer the treatment at a hospital in Belfast, forcing the family to make a four-hour round trip from their home in Castlederg, twice a day, his mother said.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said arrangements to administer the treatment to the boy had been replicated from his stay at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London.
But his mother, Charlotte Caldwell, said: “Billy has effectively been placed under hospital arrest.
“The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has refused to release Billy’s meds, which have to stay at or near a hospital in Belfast, for the duration of Billy’s treatment, which is basically for the rest of his life – or until somebody sees sense.
“This is completely at odds with the view of the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, which said he could go home, and the Home Office, which recommended he did.”
After a public outcry over the confiscation of the medicine at Heathrow airport, the home secretary, Sajid Javid, granted a licence for cannabis oil to be administered to the boy at home.
Following uncertainty over whether the Northern Irish authorities would follow the Home Office’s lead, it was announced on Thursday that the region’s Department of Health had issued an emergency licence so he could continue his treatment.
Caldwell added: “Billy needs his meds at 10am and 8pm each day. It takes a few seconds to administer. “I know far more about administering his meds than the hospital; I’ve been doing it for years.
Sajid Javid looks into easing rules on medical cannabis prescription
Read more
“It’s utterly crazy that Billy is being subjected to this sort of child abuse. He’s autistic; he needs the familiar, he needs his own bed, his toys, his garden. We just want to be home. As it stands, we have to either move to Belfast or make two four-hour round trips twice a day from home in Castlederg.”
In a statement given to the Belfast Telegraph, the Northern Ireland Department of Health said: “Yesterday [we] received an emergency licence application from Belfast Trust clinicians regarding medicinal cannabis use for Billy Caldwell. An emergency licence has today been issued by the department, replicating the licence issued last month by the Home Office for treatment at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London.
“We have also been in discussions with the Home Office to finalise arrangements for the immediate transportation of Billy’s medicine from London to the Belfast trust.”
Baron23
Well-Known Member
British public backs legalization of cannabis so it can be sold like cigarettes and alcohol, poll reveals
51 per cent say it is time to treat the drug in the same way as other legal substances. A majority of the British public back the legalisation of cannabis so that it would be sold in shops like alcohol and tobacco, a poll has revealed.
There was also majority support for decriminalisation, something that would free up police time and resources to deal with serious crime. The exclusive BMG Research poll for The Independent comes days after cannabis oil was for the first time brought into the UK legally, to treat an epileptic boy.
But within hours of the landmark moment, a young girl was rushed into hospital and placed on life support while she awaited a licence to get the same oil.
More than 1,500 people were asked if they supported or opposed the proposal that “cannabis be legalised, so that it is sold legally within a government regulated market in the same way that alcohol and tobacco is”.
Overall, 22 per cent strongly backed the move, while 29 per cent somewhat supported it, bringing total support to 51 per cent. Some 19 per cent opposed the move strongly, and 16 per cent, somewhat, bringing the proportion of those against it to 35 per cent, while 14 per cent did not know.
The respondents were then asked: “To what extent would you support or oppose cannabis be decriminalised, so that it is still a controlled substance not available for sale on the market, but that it is not criminalised (i.e. no prosecution for possession)?”
Here support rose slightly, to 52 per cent overall – with 20 per cent strongly backing it and 32 per cent somewhat behind the idea. Some 17 per cent somewhat opposed the move, while 16 per cent strongly opposed it – total opposition of 33 per cent – and 16 per cent did not know.
High profile figures have recently backed legalisation, including former Conservative leader and foreign secretary William Hague, who said his party should be “bold” in embracing a “decisive change that would be economically and socially beneficial”.
Durham police chief Mike Barton agreed with Lord Hague that the current system is not working and that the drug should be legalised. He said: “The status quo is not tenable. It’s getting worse. Drugs are getting cheaper, stronger, more readily available and more dangerous.
“I have come reluctantly over the years to the conclusion that we need to regulate the market.”
Meanwhile, the charity Health Poverty Action recently estimated that legalising the drug and regulating its sale could bring in £3.5bn of tax revenue for the government every year, including extra money for the NHS.
However, a major research project that reviewed the combined results of a series of studies across Europe, recently backed previous evidence that there is a clear link between cannabis and mental health problems.
The combined results of seven studies, which looked at psychotic outcomes, found the odds of developing psychosis when a person had ever used cannabis in their life were increased by 41 per cent. The combined results of studies examining more frequent cannabis use showed an even greater chance of developing psychosis.
New home secretary Sajid Javid announced a review of the medicinal use of cannabis, after the mother of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell, who had cannabis oil to treat his epilepsy confiscated from her at Heathrow, demanded a change in the law.
Mr Javid told MPs: “It has become clear to me since becoming home secretary that the position we find ourselves in currently is not satisfactory. It is not satisfactory for the parent, it’s not satisfactory for the doctors and it’s not satisfactory for me.
“I’ve now come to the conclusion that it is time to review the scheduling of cannabis.”
The commission he established has since explored evidence of the medical benefits of cannabis, with government advisors set to recommend what products might be rescheduled. He underlined that there is no question of the government legalising cannabis for recreational use, with penalties for unauthorised supply and possession remaining in place.
Last week Hannah Deacon, a mother of another boy with epilepsy, was allowed to pass through London City Airport carrying a five-month supply of cannabis from Amsterdam. Licences for her son Alfie Dingley to be treated were granted by the Home Office on 19 June, after a long-running battle.
But Sophia Gibson, six, from Newtownards, County Down, was rushed to hospital and placed on life support on the same day as she awaits a licence. She suffers from a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. Her parents, Danielle and Darren, say the medication relieves their daughter’s condition.
Baron23
Well-Known Member
So what is the excuse for torturing this poor girl and ending up with her hospitalized yet again before granting her this license. 
Sophia Gibson granted landmark cannabis license
A seven-year-old girl who suffers with a rare genetic condition has been granted a license for medicinal cannabis.
Sophia Gibson, from Newtownards, County Down suffers with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
The condition is caused by a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain and results in severe epileptic seizures.
An application was made on behalf of Sophia to the specialist cannabis panel set up by the home secretary.
She is the first person to be granted a long-term licence for the use of medicinal cannabis in the UK under the new expert panel system.
Sir Mike Penning who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Cannabis described it as a massive achievement.
"I hope her success offers hope to the many hundreds who also want access.
"Our priority is now rescheduling medical cannabis, so families don't have to use the flawed panel and doctors can prescribe medical cannabis for patients that need it."
Sophia's parents, Danielle and Darren, said cannabis oil relieves the symptoms of Sophia's condition and could drastically reduce the number of seizures she endures each day.
She was previously treated with the medication when her family took her to the Netherlands.
Sophia was admitted into intensive care on Wednesday after what has been described as a "traumatic" seizure that led to her being put into an induced coma.
Image copyright Gibson family
The panel was set up by the home secretary after a number of high-profile cases of children with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil to control seizures.
Billy Caldwell from Castlederg was granted an emergency licence by the Deparment of Health allowing doctors in Belfast to treat him with medicinal cannabis.
Sophia Gibson granted landmark cannabis license
A seven-year-old girl who suffers with a rare genetic condition has been granted a license for medicinal cannabis.
Sophia Gibson, from Newtownards, County Down suffers with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
The condition is caused by a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain and results in severe epileptic seizures.
An application was made on behalf of Sophia to the specialist cannabis panel set up by the home secretary.
She is the first person to be granted a long-term licence for the use of medicinal cannabis in the UK under the new expert panel system.
Sir Mike Penning who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Cannabis described it as a massive achievement.
"I hope her success offers hope to the many hundreds who also want access.
"Our priority is now rescheduling medical cannabis, so families don't have to use the flawed panel and doctors can prescribe medical cannabis for patients that need it."
Sophia's parents, Danielle and Darren, said cannabis oil relieves the symptoms of Sophia's condition and could drastically reduce the number of seizures she endures each day.
She was previously treated with the medication when her family took her to the Netherlands.
Sophia was admitted into intensive care on Wednesday after what has been described as a "traumatic" seizure that led to her being put into an induced coma.
Image copyright Gibson family
The panel was set up by the home secretary after a number of high-profile cases of children with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil to control seizures.
Billy Caldwell from Castlederg was granted an emergency licence by the Deparment of Health allowing doctors in Belfast to treat him with medicinal cannabis.
Kellya86
Herb Gardener.....
The u turn is happening faster than i was expecting...
I thought they would drag it out more to lessen the damage to their credibility...
I mean it was litterally a few months ago they said it was "a dangerous and harmfull substance, and they have no plans to legalise it...."
So im suprised so many mp's are jumping on this bandwagon..
Maybe they see the popularity and just see a chance to win some favour...
Slimey fucks...
The more they piss about now though, is only making it more apparent that they need to get it sorted if they are gonna do it..
Baron23
Well-Known Member
Yet more stupidity brought to you by day late-dollar short, lead from behind, self-serving only, politicians. The article's title inspired a bit of optimism...until you get to the end:
Medical cannabis laws to loosen for those with epilepsy in the UK
The UK government is preparing to allow the emergency use of medical cannabis. British patients have little access to medical cannabis, and a growing number of pediatric epilepsy cases have caused the issue to become a national topic of conversation.
British authorities at London’s Heathrow Airport seized epileptic medication from Billy Caldwell, a 12 year-old Irish pediatric patient. He suffered multiple seizures and was hospitalized.
Alfie Dingley, a 6-year-old epileptic child from the UK, has also gained attention from British Parliament. His parents flew him to the Netherlands to legally obtain treatment. He later got over 300,000 signatures, calling for the legalization of CBD treatments.
These cases have called into question why CBD Oil is currently illegal in the UK, despite it being available for medical purposes throughout Europe.
“To prevent a child from the accessing a medicine that can reduce the likelihood of death from severe seizures as in the case of Alfie Dingley is shocking and cruel, but to literally take a child’s medicine away that has reduced his life threatening seizures from 100 per day to 1 or 2 per month is nothing short of criminal,” says Jonathan Liebling, director for United Patients’ Alliance.
Doctors are now able to order cannabis medicines on an emergency basis, but they must show “exceptional clinical need.” Although this is a good first step, it is likely that more legislation will be passed to make medical cannabis more readily available.
"Doctors are now able to order cannabis medicines on an emergency basis, but they must show “exceptional clinical need.”
Medical cannabis laws to loosen for those with epilepsy in the UK
The UK government is preparing to allow the emergency use of medical cannabis. British patients have little access to medical cannabis, and a growing number of pediatric epilepsy cases have caused the issue to become a national topic of conversation.
British authorities at London’s Heathrow Airport seized epileptic medication from Billy Caldwell, a 12 year-old Irish pediatric patient. He suffered multiple seizures and was hospitalized.
Alfie Dingley, a 6-year-old epileptic child from the UK, has also gained attention from British Parliament. His parents flew him to the Netherlands to legally obtain treatment. He later got over 300,000 signatures, calling for the legalization of CBD treatments.
These cases have called into question why CBD Oil is currently illegal in the UK, despite it being available for medical purposes throughout Europe.
“To prevent a child from the accessing a medicine that can reduce the likelihood of death from severe seizures as in the case of Alfie Dingley is shocking and cruel, but to literally take a child’s medicine away that has reduced his life threatening seizures from 100 per day to 1 or 2 per month is nothing short of criminal,” says Jonathan Liebling, director for United Patients’ Alliance.
Doctors are now able to order cannabis medicines on an emergency basis, but they must show “exceptional clinical need.” Although this is a good first step, it is likely that more legislation will be passed to make medical cannabis more readily available.
Baron23
Well-Known Member
More abject stupidity and cupidity and ineptitude brought to you...once more....by a Government! Whoa...are we seeing a pattern here?
Billy Caldwell forced to fly to Canada for medical cannabis AGAIN as UK authorities miss vital licence deadline
His health crisis triggered creation of government expert panel on licences but Castlederg boy's health now at risk due to delay
Billy Caldwell must return to Canada to access life saving medical cannabis after the authorities missed a vital deadline in his licence application.
The Co Tyrone youngster’s health crisis last month triggered the creation of a new government panel to examine applications for the plant therapy in the UK.
Without the oil Billy suffered up to 100 epileptic seizures a day, each one potentially deadly
Twelve-year-old Billy is once more out of time and must now travel the 3,000 miles from his home in Castlederg to Toronto to access the medication so his dosing will suffer as little disruption as possible.
His mother Charlotte said: “I’m at a loss as to how and why this can happen, especially considering other licences have been issued within the UK which is fantastic news for those families.
“Yet the little boy whose health crisis forced the government into sharp focus on medicinal cannabis, who made the law-makers sit up and decide on change for good, this little boy, my son, Billy Caldwell is sitting with his life under threat again.”
Read More
It takes 32 days to get Billy’s Tilray manufactured medication from Health Canada; 30 days for the Canadians to push through the legal process and two days in transit to the UK.
Billy's oil
It takes up to two weeks for an import licence to be organised to allow his anti-epilepsy drugs into Northern Ireland.
And both processes can only start the moment a licence is issued - and that has still not happened.
Billy Caldwell forced to fly to Canada for medical cannabis AGAIN as UK authorities miss vital licence deadline
His health crisis triggered creation of government expert panel on licences but Castlederg boy's health now at risk due to delay
Billy Caldwell must return to Canada to access life saving medical cannabis after the authorities missed a vital deadline in his licence application.
The Co Tyrone youngster’s health crisis last month triggered the creation of a new government panel to examine applications for the plant therapy in the UK.
Without the oil Billy suffered up to 100 epileptic seizures a day, each one potentially deadly
Twelve-year-old Billy is once more out of time and must now travel the 3,000 miles from his home in Castlederg to Toronto to access the medication so his dosing will suffer as little disruption as possible.
His mother Charlotte said: “I’m at a loss as to how and why this can happen, especially considering other licences have been issued within the UK which is fantastic news for those families.
“Yet the little boy whose health crisis forced the government into sharp focus on medicinal cannabis, who made the law-makers sit up and decide on change for good, this little boy, my son, Billy Caldwell is sitting with his life under threat again.”
Read More
It takes 32 days to get Billy’s Tilray manufactured medication from Health Canada; 30 days for the Canadians to push through the legal process and two days in transit to the UK.
Billy's oil
It takes up to two weeks for an import licence to be organised to allow his anti-epilepsy drugs into Northern Ireland.
And both processes can only start the moment a licence is issued - and that has still not happened.
pxl_jockey
Well-Known Member
Thanks so much for gathering many of these articles together Baron23, it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster with one article (or portion of article) being positive and then followed by more stupidity from the government. They act like this is some incredibly dangerous substance whilst alcoholic and binge-drinking continue to cost this society far more...
While this public u-turn excites me to no end because having been through the NHS pain programme and the entire gamut of pain medication, treatments and procedures, surely I would qualify for medicinal cannabis easily. My only concern is that much like Florida, the political old-school are going to passive-aggressively make it stupidly difficult and/or some crappy delivery system. As long as they continue to wail about “skunk” & “no psychoactive” I feel sure they will cock it up in some convoluted fashion. I would love to not be a criminal though.
While this public u-turn excites me to no end because having been through the NHS pain programme and the entire gamut of pain medication, treatments and procedures, surely I would qualify for medicinal cannabis easily. My only concern is that much like Florida, the political old-school are going to passive-aggressively make it stupidly difficult and/or some crappy delivery system. As long as they continue to wail about “skunk” & “no psychoactive” I feel sure they will cock it up in some convoluted fashion. I would love to not be a criminal though.
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