Graham Law suffers seizures every day without his medical cannabis oil after being raided by SA Police

After suffering from debilitating seizures for years, Graham Law found an oil to manage them – until it was taken and replaced with a string of criminal charges.

For the past 15 years, Graham Law has had thousands of seizures after a surfing accident left him with a brain injury and epilepsy.

At their worst, the seizures cause Mr Law’s heart to stop.

Since 2007, he has suffered thousands of seizures, with some lasting more than eight hours at a time.

The only way he has been able to control them is through taking cannabidiol oil, or CBD oil.

“Having oil absolutely changed my life,” Mr Law, 49, said. “It’s a major life changer for me.”

But for months he has been left without a way to stem the effects of his epilepsy after police raided his Goolwa Beach home March 30 and confiscated his CDB oil and several cannabis plants.

Graham Law was left without a way to manage his seizures after SA Police raided his home and confiscated his cannabis oil. Picture: Morgan Sette

Mr Law was charged with cultivating up to prescribed number of cannabis plants, possess equipment for cannabis use or preparation and three counts of possess cannabis, cannabis resin or cannabis oil.

Detectives seized five cannabis plants, dried cannabis, the CBD oil and cannabis seeds, with an order sought to forfeit all cannabis, cannabis oil and equipment to make it.

Mr Law said the charge over possessing the CBD oil was later dropped but he will face court on the remaining charges on October 3.

Since then, he has suffered seizures almost every day and shakes uncontrollably.

Mr Law, whose sole income is a disability support pension, said he cannot afford to buy prescribed CBD oil, which would set him back more than $1000 a month because of the amount he needs to control his seizures.

“If I could have this oil my life would be so much better,” he said.

Mr Law is one of many advocating for law changes to allow people to make their own CBD oil.

Jenny Hallam said medical cannabis saved her life. Picture: Matt Loxton

Blakeview woman Jenny Hallam said cannabis saved her life.

“I can guarantee I would be dead if it wasn’t for that stuff,” she told SA Weekend.

Ms Hallam was charged six years ago with manufacturing a controlled drug and faced 10 years behind bars.

Ms Hallam was charged after making her own oil, which she gave away for free to people suffering from chronic pain, epilepsy and cancer.

“It was helping kids with epilepsy, 100 seizures a day, nothing, no seizures; non-verbal would start speaking again and going back to school and stuff like that. It was literally saving people’s lives,” she said.

Ms Hallam was placed on a $1000, two-year good behaviour bond and no conviction was recorded.

Greens MP Tammy Franks is heading up an SA parliamentary committee on the legalisation of medical cannabis. Picture: Supplied

A report by data gathering company Statistica estimated revenue from medical cannabis in Australia will increase from $245m in 2022, to $607m by 2028.

Greens MP Tammy Franks, who is leading an SA parliamentary committee on the legalisation of medical cannabis, plans to introduce legislation to parliament to provide a defence to drug driving for those who have a prescription from a doctor for medical cannabis.

“I’m hoping that the committee can, in a cross-party collaborative way, find a way that we can do something and give patients a defence, allowing them to keep their jobs, be able to pick up their kids, go about their lives and not be punished for being sick or injured,” she said.

Mr Law hopes law changes will eventually extend to manufacturing CBD oil to help those suffering like him.

“It could be such a simple solution,” he said. “People just have to have the will to do it.”