cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Case Woman 'Overdoses'





Cannabis Case Woman 'Overdoses'
Posted by CN Staff on July 02, 2003 at 07:15:43 PT
Mrs Ivol said the drug was a last resort 
Source: BBC News 
The woman at the centre of a controversial cannabis court case has received treatment for a suspected drug overdose. An ambulance took Elizabeth Ivol, also known as Biz, to hospital from her south Orkney home on Wednesday morning. A spokeswoman for NHS Orkney speaking at the island's Balfour Hospital has described Mrs Ivol's condition as stable. It is the latest twist in the case of the wheelchair-bound Multiple Sclerosis sufferer who was due to be told that a court case accusing her of supplying cannabis to others was to be dropped. 
The 55-year-old had claimed she would take her life once the trial was over and said she had already made arrangements for the funeral. On Wednesday she expressed disappointment that the Crown would tell Kirkwall Sheriff Court in Orkney that it did not intend to proceed with the case on the grounds of Ms Ivol's health. " With a bit of luck I will get stoned before I do it (take overdose) and then I will go to sleep. Then it will be over and done with and someone else can take over from me - I'm tired. " -- Elizabeth Ivol  She had wanted to use the case to publicise her campaign for the legalisation of medical cannabis, which she said is the only drug which eases her pain. Mrs Ivol told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme on Wednesday that her final protest would be to overdose on pain killers. She said: "With a bit of luck I will get stoned before I do it and then I will go to sleep. Then it will be over and done with and someone else can take over from me - I'm tired." Mrs Ivol had denied three charges in relation to the handling of cannabis when she appeared at Kirkwall Sheriff Court. She has said her life would not be worth living without the drug. Cannabis chocolates Mrs Ivol told the court she came up with the idea for what she called her "special Belgian chocolates" after agreeing to help a non-smoking MS sufferer. She developed a formula for the drug-laced confectionery as well as cannabis patches which can be directly applied to the skin. Mrs Ivol added that she had tried a long list of legal medication supplied by her doctor but claimed some of the drugs had "horrific" side effects. The court heard her day-to-day life had become almost unbearable since she was diagnosed with the incurable condition in the early 1990s. Mrs Ivol said: "At the moment I feel like somebody's pulling barbed wire through my spine. "I have muscle spasms and my eyesight's failing but it has not gone yet. It is very, very painful. "I'm completely and utterly paralysed from the neck down, more or less." She said she resisted using cannabis for two years because of the stigma attached to the drug, but eventually gave in and began smoking one cannabis joint each evening. Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2003Copyright: 2003 BBC Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Thc4MShttp://www.thc4ms.org/Legalise Cannabis Alliancehttp://www.lca-uk.org/Woman Defends Cannabis Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16648.shtmlCannabis Fight Taken To Ministers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16630.shtmlCannabis Campaigner To Take Own Life http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16613.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on July 02, 2003 at 21:55:49 PT
amen FoM
bowing my head.
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Comment #2 posted by Anna Barrett on July 02, 2003 at 08:09:45 PT:
no quality of life
To truely be exhausted to find comfort and then tooo be prosecuted for that comfort which provided you any quality of life is beyond reason. Much respect Biz I too suufer from unmentionable amounts of pain and am going through trial for about 5 years now this road is too diificult and no that if you just hurry up and die it all will end the litigation the pain in an instant good luck and I am glad the charges are dropped hope you find a comfort zone soon that makes this life worth it. 
trichome
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 02, 2003 at 07:36:11 PT
A Comment
I really hope that Biz gives up the idea of taking her own life. I know that it must be horrible living with M.S. but please Biz if you read this board don't kill yourself. You are loved and respected by many folks all around the world. 
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