Medicinal Cannabis Supplies at Risk as Firm Fails

Alfie Deacon, a 15-year-old boy who has had severe epilepsy since he was eight months old, has been seizure-free for eight years after taking Bedrolite. His mother, Hannah Deacon, campaigned for him to get the medication prescribed on the NHS and took her fight to Downing Street in 2018. After Hannah died in 2024, her mother Maggie has taken on Alfie's case.

Dutch company Bedrocan was declared bankrupt in October. Families have been told supplies could run out within months. Bedrolite is a specific formulation of cannabis and people who use it say an alternative cannabis oil would not have the same effect. Maggie Deacon fears Alfie's life could slip back to how it had been before he started taking it.

Emma Matthews' son Louis began having seizures in 2016 aged 12. He is now 23, has been seizure-free for six years and is living "a full, happy life". Matthews fears coming off Bedrolite could kill her son. She said Louis had already tried to come off the oil in the past and his seizures had immediately returned.

Bedrocan told the BBC that while Bedrocan Netherlands and Bedrocan International were declared bankrupt, there is still Bedrolite inventory available in the Netherlands and efforts are under way to secure a restart of the business. They said they have been in contact with several UK families and acknowledge that there is clearly a great deal of concern about continuity of treatment.

Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, has led the campaign for medicinal cannabis in Parliament and said she had written to the health minister. She said she wanted to see the government do more to allow companies in the UK to produce their own products.

Both Alfie and Louis' families have been told the inventory of the drug in The Netherlands is being stopped from being exported by the Dutch government to secure supplies for its own citizens. It is believed the UK has about six months' supply of Bedrolite, but it is not clear what will happen when that runs out.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said access will remain in the short term for NHS and private UK patients, with sufficient stock currently available to support continued treatment into the coming months. They said they are continuing to work with the UK supplier and Dutch government to understand if additional stock can be made available.