cannabisnews.com: MS Sufferer Cleared Of Cannabis Charge MS Sufferer Cleared Of Cannabis Charge Posted by FoM on March 17, 2000 at 07:46:49 PT From the Press Association Source: NewsUnlimited Home Office ministers have been urged to change the law on cannabis after a jury cleared a disabled man who used the drug to ease his pain. Multiple sclerosis sufferer Thomas Yates, 51, was accused of producing a controlled drug after police found 40 cannabis plants growing at his home in Lowestoft, Suffolk. A jury at Ipswich Crown Court accepted his argument that he needed cannabis as a painkiller and cleared him of any offence. Campaigners said it was the latest in a series of cases where jurors had refused to convict sick people who used cannabis for medicinal reasons. Mr Yates, a former deep sea diver, said cannabis was the only drug that eased his pain without unpleasant side effects. He said he was trying to grow a 10-year supply because his wife Andrea, 41, was dying of lung cancer and increasingly needed his time and support. After the hearing Mr Yates, a father of two, said: "All this has been a waste of time and money. "The law needs to be changed so that people can use cannabis for medicinal purposes." Police found the cannabis, plus a variety of cultivating equipment, in three upstairs rooms while looking for a fugitive who had been an acquaintance of Mr Yates' some years before. The wanted man was not found at Mr Yates' home. Bev Clydesdale, welfare officer with the South Suffolk branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, said: "We don't want anyone to break the law. But the laws on cannabis needs to be changed to allow people like Mr Yates to use it. There's no doubt that it does ease pain." Published: Friday March 17, 2000Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000Related Articles & Web Site:UK Medicinal Cannabis Projecthttp://www.medicinal-cannabis.org/index.htmlUKCIAhttp://www.ukcia.org/MS Sufferer Stockpiled Cannabishttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5093.shtml CannabisNews Articles On Multiple Sclerosis:http://www.google.com/search?q=cannabisnews+multiple+sclerosis Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by John, UK on March 17, 2000 at 09:39:03 PT There's a catch! Blair is trying to push through a law that limits the rights to trial by jury for 'minor' cases. Most cannabis offences will be tried by 'Magistrates' Courts, which will result in more incarceration. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on March 17, 2000 at 08:24:08 PT: 'Rule, Britannia!'... in favor of sanity 'Campaigners said it was the latest in a series of cases where jurors had refused to convict sick people who used cannabis for medicinal reasons.'In other words, what the jury did there in Britain is what the Fully-Informed Jury Association has been trying to tell us here in the States all along: Jury Nullification, people.And you don't need to be a 'boffin' to figure out that cannabis works:'Bev Clydesdale, welfare officer with the South Suffolk branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, said: "We don't want anyone to break the law. But the laws on cannabis needs to be changed to allow people like Mr Yates to use it. There's no doubt that it does ease pain."Sadly, I doubt that Mr. Blair will be listening; like most of the pols here, he has had his ears filled with ONDCP dung, and can hardly hear anything besides the siren song of a DrugFree Society. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: