Kent mum spends £24k a year on daughter’s cannabis oil

Ms Appleby told the BBC that cannabis oil has changed her daughter’s life but she cannot get a prescription on the NHS.

She said: “It is absolutely gutting that it has been six years and we are still in this position.”

She said she pays for the drug through private healthcare and added: “I’ve had to work so hard to keep raising the money for the cannabis oil.”

In Brighton, 31-year-old Ryan Gillam has been living with sciatica and migraines for more than ten years.

He said he found traditional treatment methods negatively affected his mental health and discovered that medical cannabis significantly improved his condition without the side effects – but comes at a cost of £500 each month.

“I would like it to be available on the NHS, or for them to pay for some of it,” he said.

“It means I am able to do everyday activities.”

The NHS does prescribe some licensed cannabis-based products for certain conditions including severe epilepsy, nausea from chemotherapy and muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.

A BBC investigation last year found that fewer than five people had been prescribed medicinal cannabis by NHS England.