BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3304 (Published 20 August 2020)Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m3304
- Clare Dyer
The parents of a 3 year old boy with severe epilepsy have been given permission to mount a landmark High Court challenge to guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) regarding cannabis prescribing on the NHS.1
Matt and Alison Hughes argue that the guidance is so restrictive that it could effectively be barring hundreds of children from accessing the cannabis treatment they need on the NHS. The family has legal aid for the judicial review case.
Charlie Hughes has West syndrome, a rare form of treatment resistant epilepsy linked to developmental delay, which can cause him to have dozens of seizures a day. But with regular, full extract cannabis oil, containing both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), his parents say that his seizures …
