Billy, The Boy Who Changed UK Cannabis Law and Lived
Jul 02, 2025
Submitted by Billy C's mum, Charlotte from United Kingdom
I'm Charlotte C. from the United Kingdom; I’m not a doctor. I’m not a politician. I’m just a mum who refuses to give up. When I close my eyes, I can still smell the bleach clinging to the hospital floors, I can hear the shuffle of hurried footsteps, the low hum of machines, the murmur of doctors trying to sound confident. But mostly, I remember the helplessness.
A mother’s fight
Here I was, December 2005, when Billy was four months old, and he had hundreds of seizures daily. I lost count after 300 seizures a day. Doctors said he was dying and suggested palliative care. But my heart whispered, "Not yet."
A late-night Google search led me to Professor Nordli in Chicago. He recommended what no one else had: a ketogenic diet. For the first time, Billy had 16 weeks seizure-free. With the seizures under control, Professor Nordli recommended an intense course of physiotherapy. Billy underwent 20 hours of physiotherapy a week, Monday through Friday, four-hour sessions.
In 2010, after two long years of intense physiotherapy, four-year-old Billy was thriving. All was well for the next few years, with Billy's seizures remaining under control. Then, quicker than anyone could imagine, the seizures had returned with a fiery vengeance, but urgently trying to get an appointment, I was told there was a six-to-nine-month waitlist. I knew Billy didn’t have the luxury of time.
Desperation pushed me to consider something I never thought I’d pursue
Something not found on any prescription pad: a plant that could help save my son. The peace we’d fought so hard for vanished overnight. Medications failed. Surgery was ruled out. The doctors were out of answers and so was I. We had exhausted every conventional treatment, medications, diets, and even flying across the world, one word kept surfacing that no doctor back home wanted to say out loud: Cannabis. I did what felt completely unnatural and yet absolutely necessary, I looked beyond the NHS.
In Los Angeles, we found a doctor who not only listened but acted
It was the first time in years I felt like we weren’t being treated as a statistic or hopeless case, but as a family worth fighting for. Billy was prescribed THCA and CBD oil, tailored specifically to his condition. Almost immediately, the change was visible. Billy’s seizures lessened, not entirely gone, but drastically reduced. His energy shifted. His spark returned. We had tried everything else… and it was this, the plant everyone had warned us about, that brought my son back to me.
Plant Medicine collides with politics
Back in the UK, I knew we couldn’t afford to stay quiet. Billy’s life was being sustained by a medicine that was still technically illegal in our own country.
In April 2017, Billy made history by becoming the first UK patient to receive an NHS Prescription for Medical Cannabis. Finally, he could get the treatment he needed and look to the future. Billy was allowed to continue that treatment until May 2018.
Just three weeks remaining on his existing prescription
Billy’s GP informed me that he could no longer supply Billy with medicinal Cannabis. An hour or so later, I called the health department, which informed me that if I were to find a Medical Cannabis product that had completed clinical trials, they would allow Billy's GP to continue prescribing.
My new search led us to Toronto, Canada, where a paediatric neurologist was in the process of carrying out a trial on children like Billy with Cannabis based medicine. After diagnostics and a lengthy consultation, my little boy was prescribed a supply of Medical Cannabis.
Cannabis continues to keep Billy alive
In fact, let me rephrase that. Medical Cannabis ensures that Billy has a life full of magic, mischief, and mayhem. Every young Wizards dream.
My son is no longer a shell of a boy, enduring seizures until he turns blue. He is beyond happy and healthy – my own little wizard, who brings as much joy to my life as the adventures of Harry Potter and friends bring to his.
Billy Cannabis oil is a 25:1 CBD/THC tincture administered 3x times per day. Billy has now been seizure-free for over a year and a half. Just magic!
Medical Cannabis isn’t a miracle. It’s medicine
And it shouldn’t take a media campaign, international travel, or a fight with the government to access it, especially when lives like Billy’s hang in the balance.
Our story isn’t over. Billy still needs this medicine to stay stable, and I’ll never stop fighting to make sure he and every other child like him can access it safely, legally, and without shame.
Because when the system turns its back, sometimes it's the plant that turns toward you.
This is Billy’s personal story and not meant to be medical advice. It is for informational purposes.
To work with a medical Cannabis professional, please visit our directory of coaches, educators, and medical professionals. Everyone's Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is different; good results start with the right approach. You don't have to figure it out on your own.
If you need help with any terminology in this article, you may find some answers in our glossary.
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