11-Year-Old Boy Receives Medical Marijuana As Epilepsy Treatment In Great Britain

Medical marijuana legalization paved way for giving children with chronic illnesses a better health care alternative. As of the latest progress on medical marijuana, an 11-year-old boy with epilepsy became the first child to receive the treatment in Great Britain.

Billy Caldwell, an 11-year-old boy who suffered vicious seizures, got a chance to consume medical marijuana for his treatment. Born with a severe form of epilepsy, he suffered more than 100 seizures a day.

Caldwell became the first Briton to gain access to medical marijuana for minors. Even though he was given the ideal treatment, doctors were still a bit hesitant in giving him an alternative medication for his epilepsy. His condition, however, served as a wake-up call among politicians and health care providers when it comes to trying out different medical alternatives.

The boy's case paved a way for medical advancement in Great Britain as health care professionals allowed the consumption of medical cannabis. Billy was originally prescribed with cannabis oil when he and his mother went to the U.S. since medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. "He went from having 25 seizures a month to about eight – and he's not had one for three months," Billy's mother Charlotte stated, as per Daily Mail.

Returning to Great Britain, Charlotte struggled while she looked for Billy's medical marijuana consumption since she was only given two months worth of the medication. She then came across Dr. Brendan O'Hare who gave her the prescription, which has been approved by the GP.

There are health care professionals who approved medical marijuana access, but there are those who strongly opposed it, claiming that more research needs to be done. The drug, however, is already used to treat seizures in children, according to Science Daily.

As a parent, are you in favor of medical marijuana in kids? Do let us know your thoughts through the comment section below.