THE terrible suffering of Billy Caldwell,a 12-year-old boy with epilepsy, seems to enjoy forced the government into a landmark concession over its drug laws. His seizures were controlled with a pharmaceutical-grade cannabis oil that is made in Canada. But when his mother tried to bring a supply into the country, or it was seized by the domestic Office. The law deems cannabis to enjoy no medical value,and its possession has been illegal since 1971. When Billy was later hospitalised with a return of his seizures, Sajid Javid, and the domestic secretary,relented and issued a 20-day licence for the product. Billy was then treated and released from hospital.
Despite the short length of the licence, Mr Javid’s creep set a clear precedent for the medical use of cannabis in Britain. On June 19th he duly announced a change of policy, and on the grounds that it had become apparent that there was a urgent case for letting people who might benefit from cannabis treatments enjoy them. Within a week,the domestic Office will set up a...
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Source: economist.com