OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER
Urgent Intervention Needed to Protect Children with Severe Epilepsy
Dear Prime Minister,
I am asking you to urgently intervene with the Dutch Government to prevent children and adults with severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy from losing access to the medicinal cannabis oils that have transformed their lives.
For 23 years, Bedrocan supplied standardised medicinal cannabis under contract to the Dutch Government. That contract ended on 1 January 2026, yet the legislation allowing the company to trade independently has been delayed until 2028. Bedrocan’s Dutch companies have now been declared bankrupt.
We have already secured a UK pharmaceutical company with the relevant licences, which has signed an agreement with Bedrocan to manufacture, test and arrange dispensing of Bedrolite and Bedica oils here in the UK. This was specifically arranged to prevent further supply disruptions.
However, without access to the Bedrocan plant material, this solution cannot proceed.
There is interest in making the remaining Bedrocan stock available. However, uncertainty remains over the arrangements needed to secure its supply to the UK.
These are not medicines that can simply be substituted with another cannabis strain. Children like my son Ben have achieved life-changing seizure control with these specific oils. Losing access risks serious deterioration and potentially life-threatening seizures.
This affects patients receiving prescriptions through both the NHS and private healthcare.
Prime Minister, I urgently ask you to speak directly with the Dutch Government to resolve any regulatory barriers, facilitate the release of the remaining Bedrocan stocks to the UK and establish a sustainable supply arrangement.
After eight years of fighting for legal access to these medicines in the UK and overcoming the supply challenges caused by Brexit to keep our children well, we have finally secured a UK manufacturing solution. We now urgently need your intervention to prevent yet another avoidable crisis.
Please do not allow children who have finally gained control of their seizures to lose the medicines keeping them well.
Yours sincerely,
Joanne Griffiths
End Our Pain
