Mother speaks of challenge securing legal cannabis

Teagan Appleby, 14, can experience up to 300 seizures a day

A mother from Kent has spoken of the challenges she has faced procuring medicinal cannabis oil for her daughter, who has severe epilepsy.

Emma Appleby said Teagan, 14, from Aylesham, is in hospital following 19 days of constant seizures.

Medicinal cannabis was legalised by the government in 2018, but many struggle to procure prescriptions on the NHS.

The government said it sympathised with patients dealing with "challenging conditions".

A spokesperson for the department of health and social care said licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely funded by the NHS where there is "clear evidence of their quality, safety and effectiveness".

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, Emma Appleby said she was "exhausted" after trying to access the medication for her daughter.

Ms Appleby said she had been struggling to obtain the cannabis oil since the private doctor who prescribed it retired in July and its supplier shut down.

She said nothing had "broken the cycle" of constant seizures.

Prof Mike Barnes is a neurologist who helped secure a medical cannabis license for Alfie Dingley, 10, who also has epilepsy.

Prof Barnes said the drug was "effectively just available privately" and the NHS had issued very few prescriptions in five years.

He said many doctors were reluctant to prescribe it and those that do faced funding challenges.

Mr Barnes called on the secretary of state for health to address the issue.

He said stigma surrounding cannabis was "preventing its wider use for medicine".

'Evidence-based approach'

The spokesperson for the department of health and social care said they allowed "specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based products, where clinically appropriate".

The government is taking an evidence-based approach to unlicensed cannabis-based treatments to ensure they are proved "safe and effective" before they can be considered for roll out on the NHS more widely, the spokesperson added.

Last week, Ms Appleby was informed of a new oil, also from abroad, which she is fundraising for.