Kenilworth School boy's mother says she still can't access the medical cannabis her son needs

The mother of Kenilworth school boy, Alfie Dingley, says her son is yet again struggling to get access to the medical cannabis he needs.
Hannah Deacon and Alfie DingleyHannah Deacon and Alfie Dingley
Hannah Deacon and Alfie Dingley

Eight-year-old Alfie Dingley has been seizure-free for 11 months and has been out of hospital with the help of medical cannabis to treat severe epilepsy. But his mother, Hannah Deacon, recently took to social media where she posted a heartfelt video about how Alfie’s strain of medical cannabis had lost some of its effectiveness.

Now Alfie needs another strain of medical cannabis in addition to his current treatment.

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Hannah said: “He’s doing very very well. He’s had 11 months out of hospital, which he’s never had. Then the seizures came back. It’s still great improvement, but the point is they’ve come back a little bit. It’s just that we need to be able to have the freedom to change products if we need to.”

Alfie became the first person to be granted a licence to receive the drug last year.

She said: “Our campaign helped change the law in the UK.”

Alfie has one of two prescriptions for medical cannabis in the UK. She said even though medical cannabis is now legal access to it needs to be easier for people to receive the treatment.

She added: “We’re going to get Alfie another product, but the frustration is I have to import it from another country. We will get it but we’ll probably have to wait another 2-4 weeks.”

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Hannah continues to work for people to have easier access to medical cannabis with the campaign group End Our Pain.

She watched a debate on the issue of medical cannabis by MPs held at the House of Commons last week. She also served as a speaker last week at a London event called Britain's Cannabis Revolution: Understanding the Impact.

“We are in a position where the law has been changed but doctors are not allowed to prescribe it because senior doctors are saying there’s not enough evidence of its benefits. It’s not true. Cannabis is not toxic. You can’t overdose on it.”