Cannabis oil to
treat epileptic
children ‘too
costly’ for NHS
By Tony Diver
A CANNABIS drug that reduces sei-
zures in children with epilepsy is too
expensive to prescribe, the UK’s medi-
cal advisory body has said.
Cannabidiol, which is already used
in the US, will not be recommended for
use on the NHS after the ruling by the
National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (Nice).
The decision was described as “dis-
appointing” by campaign group Can-
nabis Patient Advocacy and Support
Services, as it said the oil had “dramati-
cally” helped some children.
Draft guidance, published yesterday,
said that while there was evidence that
cannabis oil reduced the number of
seizures children had, the drug was too
expensive and its long-term effects
were unclear.
Nice also had concerns about the
“validity of the economic model” of
GW Pharma, the company that pro-
vides the drug that treats two types of
severe epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syn-
drome and Dravet syndrome.
People who currently have access to
cannabis-derived drugs to treat epi-
lepsy will not be affected by the ruling.
A limited number of parents have li-
cences to use medical cannabis oils,
with some resorting to bringing in the
medication from abroad in addition to
having a valid UK licence.
Cannabidiol itself, which does not
contain the psychoactive ingredient
THC, is not licensed for use in the UK
but a Nice spokesperson said it ex-
pected this to change in the near fu-
ture.
Prof David Nutt, head of neuropsy-
chopharmacology at Imperial College
London, warned that having effective
cannabis-derived medication on the
NHS might now be “a lost cause”.
Monday best Terry Whitear, 75, prepares Southampton’s Old Bowling Green in Hampshire as the coming Bank Holiday shapes up to be the warmest on
record, with temperatures up to 31C (87.8F) forecast for the South East on Monday, passing 2017’s 28.2C (82.7F) in Holbeach, Lincs. Weather: Page 39SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY82mph
The speed of the car carrying four young
men when it drifted across the centre line
and smashed into an oncoming taxiNews
Coroner’s plea
to teach young
drivers about
fatal crashes
By Daily Telegraph ReporterDRIVING instructors should force
learner drivers to read stories involv-
ing fatal car crashes in attempts to pre-
vent further loss of life on Britain’s
roads, a coroner said yesterday.
Kevin McLoughlin, a senior coroner
based in Wakefield, West Yorks, made
the impassioned plea as he oversaw an
inquest into the deaths of four young
men who were killed when the car they
were travelling in collided head-on
with a taxi.
Brandon Frew, 19, Declan Grove, 19,
Matty Walshaw, 18, and Caelan Meg-
son, 21, died as a result of the smash in
Horsforth, near Leeds, on June 30 last
year.
The inquest heard a red Seat Leon
driven by Megson had drifted onto the
wrong side of the road while travelling
at a “colossal” speed of 82mph.
Megson was two-and-a-half-times
over the drink-drive limit and had
taken cocaine hours before the crash.
The incident occurred as the men
made their way to a McDonald’s on the
A6120 after leaving a party.
Mr McLoughlin suggested the fatal-
ity should be used by instructors across
West Yorkshire as an example to high-
light the dangers caused by irresponsi-
ble behaviour behind the wheel.
He told the inquest: “We need to find
ways to stop the same thing happening
in this area to press the message home.
Part of the maturity and responsibility
of being in a motor car is understand-
ing what might happen, and the need,
even though it may sound boring, to be
sensible.
“I would ask that every driving in-
structor in this area cuts out the media
coverage in the papers reporting this
terrible car accident and makes their
students read it and discuss it with
them so they understand the responsi-
bility that goes with having a licence.”
The inquest heard paramedics de-ployed to the crash scene were con-
fronted with the result of a “high-speed
impact” in which both vehicles had
sustained an “incredible amount” of
damage along the 40mph road.
Megson and Frew, who was the
front-seat passenger, were pronounced
dead at the scene while attempts to re-
vive Walshaw and Grove proved un-
successful.
Two girls, aged 16 and 17, were also
passengers and survived. Taxi driver
Abid Lodhi, who was on his way home
after dropping off his last fare, broke
his ribs, left hand, knee, pelvis and hip.
The father-of-three said he had no
time to react as he drove round a blindcorner moments before impact.
He told the inquest: “It was too close.
I didn’t have a chance. I could not do
anything. I had no time to brake.”
Mr Lodhi has still not returned to
work and attended yesterday’s inquest
walking with crutches.
Mr McLoughlin concluded the four
men died due to a road traffic collision.
He added: “I would urge schools to
engage in that further to ask students
what it must be like sitting in my chair
looking at bewildered parents who are
disbelieving of the calamity that has
been thrust upon them.
“The message is clear, not to get in a
car with someone who has been drink-
ing. Better still, to plan at the start of
the evening how they are going to get
home.
“In relation to the families, you have
suffered in a most brutal way. You have
got my heartfelt sympathies.”Call for review of domestic abuse
laws after wife is beaten to death
By Phoebe SouthworthA CORONER has urged the Home Sec-
retary to review domestic abuse laws
after a husband killed his estranged
wife by letting himself into their home
with keys the police had failed to seize.
Derek Winter, Sunderland’s senior
coroner, said he would be writing to
Priti Patel after ruling that Alan Martin,
53, unlawfully killed his partner, Kay,
49, by beating her to death with a
sledgehammer two weeks after being
questioned on suspicion of rape and
domestic assault.
Mrs Martin had suffered 12 incidents
of domestic abuse in seven years at thehands of Martin, a bricklayer, and was
considered by police to be at “high
risk”, the inquest had heard.
But Martin was allowed to leave
police custody on Sept 7 last year while
keeping his set of house keys.
Just before 8pm on Sept 20 he let
himself into their marital home in
Humbledon, Tyne and Wear, and killed
his wife before hanging himself.
Mr Winter said the gap in the protec-
tion offered to victims of domestic
abuse prior to any court proceedings
“is a matter of concern to me”.
The Independent Office for Police
Conduct investigated but found offic-
ers had no case to answer.8 ***^ Friday 23 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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