LONDON: The British government on Saturday changed course in a case concerning the use of cannabis oil, saying an epileptic boy can be treated with it after his mother said he needed it to survive severe seizures.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he had agreed to urgently issue a licence to allow Billy Caldwell, 12, to be treated with the substance. He said his decision was based on advice from senior doctors who made it clear that Billy, who was admitted to hospital on Friday, was facing a medical emergency.
Javid said the government's immediate priority was to make sure the boy received "the most effective treatment possible in a safe way".
Cannabis oil is banned in Britain. Authorities seized it from Charlotte Caldwell, the boy's mother, when she tried to bring it into the country from Canada on Monday.
She said her son had suffered two severe seizures on Friday night, and that the cannabis oil was the only substance that could prevent the life-threatening attacks.
Ms Caldwell had said earlier that she was pleased that the Home Office was working with her to find a solution.
Billy was in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital receiving treatment on Saturday while his mother lobbied for the return of the cannabis oil seized by authorities at Heathrow Airport on Monday.
She said earlier that the denial of the medicine by British officials was "beyond cruelty".
Billy and his mother had travelled to Canada to obtain cannabis oil after the boy's doctor was ordered to stop prescribing it.
Ms Caldwell said her son's seizures, each of which is potentially fatal, had returned on Tuesday after the medication was seized. She said that when he was using the cannabis oil, he was free of seizures.
Under British law, cannabis is listed as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that it is not recognised as having a therapeutic value. Schedule 1 drugs can be used for research purposes and clinical trials, but only under a Home Office licence.
The Caldwell family, who normally live in Northern Ireland, have received support from several members of parliament from different political parties.
Billy had been receiving medicinal cannabis oil on prescription by his family doctor for over a year, but supplies ran out after the Home Office ordered the doctor to stop prescribing it.
