A mother fighting to get her epileptic daughter cannabis oil says it is “frustrating and ludicrous” she can legally give her opiates – but not a drug which could save her life.

Rosie Riddick was diagnosed with the condition when she was four-years-old, two years after an almost deadly battle with meningitis.

Now the 15-year-old, who was born in Nascot Wood, Watford, and is a former pupil of Nascot Wood School, has more than 10 seizures a day.

Her exasperated parents, Victoria and Alex, took her California two years ago to try cannabis oil as a last resort, and say it made the world of difference.

But back home in England, they face a stumbling block as the drug is banned for both recreational and medical use in Britain.

“We felt like we finally met our daughter when she was on the oil,” said her mum, Victoria. “We got to see what she would be like without the epilepsy.

“She can sometimes get withdrawn as her brain is constantly being attacked with activity, and that’s tiring for her. After school she usually goes to her room because she’s so exhausted.

“In America though, she had energy. There was a dramatic reduction in her seizures. We went to a football match, went to a supermarket and she even went in the sea.

“These are all things we can’t usually do.”

Rosie has the mental age of a seven-year-old, is deaf in one ear, has autism because of the seizures and one side of her body is weaker than the over – but in all other ways she is a normal teenager.

Her parents decided to try cannabis oil after exhausting all other options, including an implant to send signals to her brain, a keto diet and medication, none of which worked.

They spent £20,000 getting Rosie and her siblings, Lucy, now 11 and Henry, seven, to California for an eight-week trip.

But back at home, her condition regressed: the strength and amount of seizures got worse and as her brain is so damaged from the meningitis, she is not a candidate for surgery.

“We knew we couldn’t bring the oil back with us as it’s illegal and we aren’t willing to administer it to her under that circumstance,” Victoria added.

“I find it frustrating and ludicrous that legally, I can give my daughter opioids and diazepam, yet I can’t give her what is in essence a plant I could grow in our garden and turn into medication myself.

“We have gone through frustration, upset, depression, helplessness, every range of emotions. We know that without something, there is every chance she will die.

“Our daughter is fighting so hard to live and now our consultant says there is nothing they can do for her. As a parent, that’s the hardest thing you’re ever going to hear.”

She added: “We want everyone to understand that we are not asking for our children to go to a drug dealer to buy cannabis and get stoned. We want her to receive the medical care she needs.

“Cannabis shouldn’t be legalised, but more planning needs to go into it for medical use.”

In the meantime, Rosie, who lives in Apsley with her family, is still progressing as a normal teenager who loves school, singing, dancing and is very sociable.

She was hospitalised after a particularly bad bout of seizures a few weeks ago, but has managed to bounce back.

Victoria added: “When she had meningitis they told us she wouldn’t make it through the night. It was the darkest of times.

“But every specialist now can’t believe how well she is. We don’t think of her as delayed. We just think of her as our Rosie.”