News

How a ‘hypocritical’ police officer using cannabis to treat her terminally ill son made Jeremy Kyle think again

A serving police officer who uses cannabis oil to treat her terminally ill son has admitted to being “hypocritical” but insisted she does not regret her actions, saying: “I would rather my son be illegally alive than legally dead.” Speaking to Jeremy Kyle for ITV’s The Kyle Files, the mother – whose identity was concealed – […]

A serving police officer who uses cannabis oil to treat her terminally ill son has admitted to being “hypocritical” but insisted she does not regret her actions, saying: “I would rather my son be illegally alive than legally dead.”

Speaking to Jeremy Kyle for ITV’s The Kyle Files, the mother – whose identity was concealed – told how she was pressed into turning to cannabis as other treatments failed to alleviate his multiple tumours.

And despite the illegality of the police woman’s actions, firebrand Kyle confessed to being swayed by the mum’s ‘desperate’ situation and would “absolutely” consider taking similar action if his own children were faced with the same medical predicament.

Read more: Jeremy Kyle explains how he “failed miserably” with marriage proposal

Kyle was concerned at the usage of skunk – but seemed to soften on the issue of cannabis oil (Credit: ITV)

Introduced to Kyle by her cannabis oil supplier and campaigner Jeff Titchfield, the mother told how her son had endured surgery and radiotherapy until she decided to research alternative treatment.

“I just knew I couldn’t sit there and watch him die,” she told Kyle.

“So I started by rubbing it [cannabis oil] in, on the roof of his mouth.”

She continued: “I was worried, not that it would make him worse – because I spoke to several people it helped and cured – but I was just worried it might interact with other medicines.

“But within days, [we] just saw an improvement straight away.”

The mother believes cannabis oil helped shrink her terminally ill son’s tumour (Credit: ITV)

Neither medics nor her husband knew the mother was utilising cannabis oil until her son started to improve. With scans indicating a tumour was showing shrinkage, the decision was made to continue using cannabis oil.

The mother fully accepted she could be viewed as a hypocrite, having arrested people for possession during the course of her job.

But she also maintained medicinal use of cannabis oil should not be illegal and was resolute the risk was worth it.

“I knew I was faced with [possible arrest] when I started administering it to him,” she said.

She continued; “I would rather my son be illegally alive than legally dead.”

Campaigner Jeff Titchfield joined Kyle to speak to the mother (Credit: ITV)

Kyle seemed deeply moved by the mother’s plight and despite witnessing dawn raids of illegal dens and cannabis farms elsewhere in the programme admitted to being influenced by the mother’s argument.

Highlighting how the mother jeopardised her career and kept her husband and the authorities in the dark, he told of his shock: “You’ve got to be pretty desperate to do that which gets me thinking – would I do that if my kid was in that position? Absolutely right I would.”

And at the end of the show, Kyle concluded consideration should possibly be made for medicinal use of cannabis oil – while still punishing drug dealers to the full extent of the law.

Has Kyle changed his views on cannabis? (Credit: ITV)

He summarised: “I thought that cannabis was a dangerous drug that should remain illegal.

“But after meeting people using it medicinally, it made me question whether I would do the same.

“We might not yet have enough proof about the health benefits, but one thing’s for sure: while it is illegal it is being made in underground farms by criminals who don’t care that skunk is causing psychosis because it makes them more money than the low potency stuff.

“Making this programme has made me realise the illegal drug trade is massive – and cannabis is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Many viewers were surprised but sympathetic to the mother’s circumstances.

Others felt the show was surprising on a wider level and reflected on their own experiences.

But not everyone was swayed like Kyle, even if they say potential benefits to usage, decriminalisation or legalisation.

Read more: Jeremy Kyle reportedly engaged to his children’s former nanny after holiday proposal

The Kyle Files is on ITV, Mondays at 8pm.

Did The Kyle Files change your view about cannabis? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Robert Leigh
Freelance writer