Billy’s Road Trip – Weed World talks to Charlotte Caldwell

After Charlotte Caldwell managed to get an official prescription for CBD oil from her doctor to help alleviate her son’s suffering, she has been inundated by calls and messages from parents and families who want her advice. On Christmas Eve of last year, just as she was putting the presents under the tree, she received a call from a mother who was on the way to the hospital with her child. The lady’s daughter was having severe epileptic seizures and feared the worst. Charlotte stayed on the phone with her until the ambulance got to the hospital and wished her all the best.

Once she had helped as much as she could, Charlotte thought to herself that enough was enough: she knew that cannabis as a medicine can control conditions such as epilepsy and felt that her voice could continue to make a difference. While she believes that people shouldn’t just see cannabis as a miracle cure, she firmly believes that everyone should have access to it if they need it. Because she is a single mother (and 24-hour caregiver) she knows that she can’t help everyone individually but her knowledge can be put to good use. Her mission now is to keep pushing the ideal of legalization across the whole of the United Kingdom.

As of the start of February, Charlotte has embarked on Billy’s Tour with the intention of visiting government buildings around Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Westminster to deliver Billy’s Law. With the help a lawyer who fully supports the family, Billy’s Law is legislation which has been drawn up to outline the necessary changes to policy which need to be implemented to end the suffering of others like Billy. Her hope is that by talking to politicians directly she can explain what needs to be done and outline the steps which can be taken. In her eyes it is imperative that anyone can be prescribed medicinal cannabis if it is deemed likely that it will benefit them. Her hope is that this new can be applied to the whole of the UK because this is notjust an Irish health issue.

Charlotte has already achieved a huge amount in her campaign. She has cross-party political support in Northern Ireland and has received an excellent response from the Dail Eireann in Dublin. Her main focus with Billy’s Law is that it is passed and processed as quickly as possible and she believes there is a good chance of this because of the existing license process. As it stands currently, special cases can result in a person being granted a temporary license for medicinal cannabis with a quarterly review. The licenses are not easy to obtain and the new law advocates that medicinal cannabis is seen as a first point of call for numerous conditions.  Billy’s Law would allow repeat prescriptions to be issued without the need for an overly-complicated process (similar to any prescription issued by a medical professional) and cannabis oil would be made available through pharmacists.

This tour is a mission of hope.

What started as an idea from a single mother who had fought to help her son has now blossomed into an active group made up of 14 volunteers. Everyone involved has given up their time for no personal gain, simply because they believe in the cause so strongly.

In spite of the cost to her, Charlotte hasn’t asked for donations to fund the tour. In her eyes this tour was a necessary action and she couldn’t just sit back and allow things to continue the way they have for too long. With the endless calls from people’s relatives the emotional strain has become a driving force as she has been in their shoes and knows that she has a chance to make a difference. So far they have found that people have been more than willing to help them save money by offering them a place to park their tour bus, allowing them to use their facilities and even cooking dinner for the whole tour crew and she has been amazed by the kindness of strangers.

While they promote their new law and try to raise awareness, they are also raising money for the ‘Sponsor a Bud’ charity which allows people in need to get their first few bottles of oil for. This is an excellent way of helping families in need until the law is changed, and just shows how selfless she is. While her intentions are commendable, critics ask if she can really make a difference. In all honesty, Charlotte explained that she realizes the outcome is still a relative unknown but she maintains her firm belief.

Her mission is to mend a broken system and she feels like the tide is turning in her favor as more and more people are becoming involved in campaigning for change. Despite the fact that the impact that illness has on people, she finds that many people are afraid to admit that they can be helped through cannabis oil.

Recently, Charlotte has met an increasing number of people through social media, but only 10% of them are prepared to share their stories. Why should people be afraid to admit the truth? How can a society be civilized if we judge people because they want to have a better standard of living?

Amazingly, many people saying that they have no concerns regarding law enforcement or criminal proceedings, but they do fear how their reputation may be affected if they are seen as a ‘drug user’ for using medicinal cannabis. Hopefully, Billy’s Law can help to shift people’s perceptions and alleviate this worry.

Trying to treat people through pharmaceutical methods is costly and is a huge detriment to the economy: Billy’s treatments used to cost £5,000 per month but now he only needs £1,500 worth of medication including his CBD oil. Can you imagine how much of an impact this saving could have if it was multiplied across the UK? It staggers belief. Add to this the idea that cannabis has the potential to help improve the overall health of the general population and it just goes to show how important this is for all of us. Cannabis is a medicine that can change lives and urgent change is needed now. Research around the world is years ahead of the UK due to the outdated drug policy that limits the potential for research to be undertaken, but if we open our minds and communicate with the leading minds in America, Israel and Spain we could work together to benefit everyone.

Charlotte Caldwell and her supporters have a long road ahead of them, but we wish them the best in all their endeavors. She knows that she can’t let people down by not trying her best and she even said that she had a dream where the Devil whispered into her ear, “You won’t survive the storm.” Unperturbed, she simply whispered back, “I am the storm.”

Originally published in Weed World Magazine Issue 134