THE mother of severely epileptic Co Tyrone boy Billy Caldwell has described a British government review that could overhaul legislation for medicinal cannabis use as "amazing news".
Charlotte Caldwell from Castlederg last night also confirmed that she has been asked to sit on a parliamentary advisory panel to "represent all the father and mothers nursing children" with "status epilepticus", the most dangerous form of the condition.
"They need a voice so more politicians can understand what it's like to nurse children 24/7 with life-threatening conditions," she said.
Hours earlier, British home secretary Sajid Javid confirmed a "full review" is to be carried out that could allow more prescriptions of drugs made from cannabis.
The move was prompted by the outcry over the case of Mrs Caldwell's 12-year-old son Billy - who suffered from 100 seizures a day - and other children denied cannabis oil to treat their acute illness.
Ms Caldwell (50) credits the oil with transforming her son's quality of life, saying he was seizure-free for more than 300 days while using it.
Last weekend Mr Javid intervened to permit the use of the drug to treat the boy, who became seriously ill and was admitted to hospital in London after supplies his mother had brought from Canada were confiscated at Heathrow.
Ms Caldwell said she "applauded" the review but appealed for the existing "outdated" legislation to be overhauled urgently.
"This is not about one child...this is about hundreds of children and 30 days should be a long enough time (to make change)," she told the BBC.
While Billy was discharged from hospital on Monday, it is understood the campaigning mother intends to stay with her son in London for coming weeks to "seek assurances" from government ministers.
"We still want to hear the detail from the mouths of the Home Secretary and the Health Secretary," she said.
"At every stage of this campaign we have mentioned making history and we have mentioned it because it is commonsense.
"The power of the mothers and fathers of sick children has bust the political process wide open and it is on the verge of changing thousands of lives by bringing cannabis laws in line with many other countries.
"We are on the threshold of the next chapter of the history book."
Ms Caldwell said she wanted to meet with both the Home and Health Secretaries.
She said that in contrast to a week ago when she was still fighting for Billy to be treated with medicininal cannabis, a new meeting would be to "thank them for seeing and hearing sense and joining us in creating history."
Billy's case provoked widespread calls for a change in the law, with former Conservative leader William Hague urging ministers to consider full legalisation of the drug.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative peer - who led the party from 1997-2001 - said the war on cannabis had been "comprehensively and irreversibly lost" and it was time to consider legalising the substance for recreational as well as medicinal use.
But he was swiftly slapped down by the Home Office, which said: "Any debate within government about the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of cannabis-based medicines does not extend to any review regarding the classification of cannabis and the penalties for the illicit possession, cultivation and trafficking of cannabis will remain the same."
Mr Javid told MPs he had the "utmost sympathy" for the families of children like Billy and six-year-old Alfie Dingley from Warwickshire, who has a rare form of epilepsy that causes up to 150 seizures per month, and being forced to travel abroad for treatments.
"As a father, I know there is nothing worse than seeing your child suffer," he said. "You would do anything to take away their pain.
"That is why I have the utmost sympathy for Billy Caldwell, Alfie Dingley and many others like them and for their parents, who have been under unimaginable stress and strain.
"I know that they are following a gut parental instinct to do whatever is in their power to try to alleviate the suffering of their child.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure that we have a system that works, so that these children and these parents can get access to the best possible medical treatment."
