A boy with a rare form of epilepsy might finally get the medical cannabis his family says could help his condition.
The Home Office has so far denied six-year-old Alfie Dingley access to the drug because it "cannot be practically prescribed, administered or supplied to the public" due to being a banned substance.
However following a meeting between Policing Minister Nick Hurd and Alfie's parents a Home Office spokesman said that "every option" was being considered to help him.
Alfie can suffer up to 30 seizures a day.
His parents, Hannah Deacon and Drew Dingley, want to give him medical cannabis, which he was treated with in the Netherlands last year.
Alfie's use of cannabis treatment is said to reduce both the severity and the frequency of his clusters of seizures, coming once every 27 days rather than every 7-10 days.
It has been claimed the youngster faces "early psychosis and a premature death" if he has to revert to the steroid-based treatment he received before travelling to the Netherlands.
One of the possibilities being considered to help Alfie is a "trial" of medical cannabis supervised by his doctors.
The Home Office spokesman said: "The Government has a huge amount of sympathy for the rare and difficult situation that Alfie and his family are faced with.
"The Policing Minister wants to explore every option and has met with Alfie's family to discuss treatments that may be accessible for him.
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"No decisions have been made and any proposal would need to be led by senior clinicians using sufficient and rigorous evidence."
Ms Deacon, from Kenilworth in Warwickshire, said: "We are hoping that this is the beginning of the end of our long fight to save our son."
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