Brexit prescriptions: Preston boy 'could die' without cannabis oil

A woman whose 11-year-old son relies on a "lifesaving" medical cannabis oil has said he could die because the UK has no agreement with the EU on prescriptions.

Preston's Joanne Griffiths said the Bedrolite and Bedica oils, which treat her son Ben's severe epilepsy, were dispensed in the Netherlands and as such, she could no longer source them.

Rules around prescriptions did not form part of the post-Brexit trade deal.

The government said it was working "urgently" with the Dutch authorities.

Mrs Griffith said Ben has brain damage, cerebral palsy and autism and can have up to 300 seizures a day, with some lasting for up to an hour.

She said he had been using the oils for the past two years and they had given him "the first seizure-free days of his life".

She said she only had six weeks' worth of the drugs left and "without this medication, my son will die".

"If we run out of the oils, he will have to go into intensive care at Alder Hey [Children's Hospital in Liverpool]," she said.

"He will start having hundreds of seizures again, and the reality is, sadly, he just won't survive."

Mrs Griffiths added that she had been advised by the government that a range of alternative cannabis-based medicines were available to UK patients, but said the Dutch products worked best for her son.

From 1 January, prescriptions issued in the UK can no longer be lawfully dispensed by an EU member state.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was seeking an "urgent legal fix" over the prescriptions issue.

A Department of Health spokeswoman added that officials "sympathise with patients dealing with challenging conditions and we are working urgently with the Dutch government to find a solution".

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