cannabisnews.com: Judge Questions Cannabis Law Judge Questions Cannabis Law Posted by CN Staff on July 06, 2003 at 08:33:37 PT Prosser suggests current measures unenforceable Source: BBC News A former High Court judge has called for the legalisation of cannabis. Lord Prosser said the sale of the drug should be controlled in the same way as tobacco and alcohol, according to the Scotland on Sunday. His comments came in the wake of the Crown's decision to drop their case against 55-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer Biz Ivol, who uses cannabis to ease the symptoms of her condition. Ms Ivol, of South Ronaldsay, Orkney, admitted distributing the drug in the form of specially-prepared chocolates to be used for pain relief, but pleaded not guilty to supplying the drug on the grounds that she believed she was doing nothing wrong. 'Not working' The Crown Office dropped the charges against Ms Ivol, who had threatened to take her own life once the case was concluded, due to her failing health. She was found unconscious by a neighbour at her home after the case collapsed, but is now recovering in hospital. Lord Prosser said the Government's current cannabis laws were "clearly not working". He said: "I have long believed that the law in its present form should be changed. "It should be legal to possess the drug and there should be a system of controlled supply similar to that which exists for tobacco and alcohol." The judge, who retired from the bench last year, added: "If a law seems to be unenforceable then one would have to think very carefully about how to solve the problem in other ways. "It cannot be a sound law if it does not achieve what it was meant to achieve." Independent MSP Margo MacDonald has also called on the Scottish Executive to seek the public's views on whether or not they believe the cannabis laws should be changed. Ms MacDonald, a regional MSP for the Lothians, has lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament calling for on the executive to hold a public consultation into whether people think the drug should be allowed for medicinal purposes. Ms MacDonald added: "Why on earth are we still forcing people like Biz Ivol to go through the indignities and the trauma that she has had to go through?" Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Sunday, July 6, 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/Former Judge Calls for Legalisation of Cannabis http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16761.shtmlWoman Defends Cannabis Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16648.shtmlThinktank Urges Leniency for Cannabis Growers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15962.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by 312 on July 06, 2003 at 17:12:32 PT Another story in Glasgow Herald... ...similar to this one Cannabis should be sold like tobacco, says retired judge [ Post Comment ] Post Comment