NHS Taken to Court Over Cannabis Prescription Guidelines
The parents of a severely epileptic 3 year old boy have been given the green light to mount a High Court challenge against the NHS - in relation to its medical cannabis guidelines. If this landmark case is successful, it would deem the current prescription guidelines unlawful, requiring a major rethink of the UK’s current medical cannabis system.
Matt and Ali Hughes from Norwich argue that current guidelines are so restrictive that 100s if not 1000s of children are unable to get their much needed cannabis prescription - the family have been acquiring the medicine privately, costing them an average of £2200 a month. They started with Bedrolite and Bedica, but then had to switch a cheaper alternative due to the unaffordable costs. The Hughes have had no choice but to pay the price; they told the BBC they were “all out of options” after trying 6 different medications and applying for brain surgery for their son Charlie. Charlie suffers from West syndrome, a severe and treatment-resistant form of epilepsy which also affects a child's development.
The THC and CBD based medicine they now use has reduced their son’s average daily epileptic fits from 120 to 20 - resulting in a much higher quality of life for Charlie and his parents. The medicine has also returned his brain development closer to the normal rate; he is speaking more, taking an interest in his surroundings, and feeding himself. Charlie’s parents described the first day they gave him the new medicine as the best day of their lives. They told The Sun “It was a sunny weekend and we went out for a walk - he didn’t have a single seizure. We looked at each other but we didn’t say a word, we didn’t want to jinx it. It was a huge relief, we were totally elated.”
The family were forced into taking legal action as the current situation is not financially sustainable. Within the next 6 months they need an NHS prescription due to no longer being able to afford privately acquiring the medication. Nusrat Zar, the lawyer working with the Hughes family on the case said that NHS guidelines did not explicitly advise doctors against prescribing the drug, but it did not encourage doctors to go down this path due to perceived risks. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, who produced the cannabis prescription guidelines, said that there was not enough conclusive evidence to recommend cannabis based medicine for West syndrome, and that it could not comment specifically on Charlie’s case as it was an ongoing legal matter.
Stories like Charlie’s have been heard all over the UK since 2018 when the UK government legalised medical cannabis. However this is the first time such a legal challenge against the NHS has reached this stage, showing there is hope for progress around the corner - and hope for the 1000s of children and parents who are in the same boat as the Huges. You can read more about the current NHS position on prescribing cannabis based medicines in our previous article on the subject.