Acquittal Of UK Medical
Marijuana Co-Operative Operator Gets Massive Media Coverage
– There, Not Here, Of Course –
"Cannabis Law In Chaos As Dealer Is Cleared" -- 5 Articles
(Marijuananews note: Each of the 5 articles has
some unique information, but they also demonstrate the extent and spin of the coverage.
Again, this is only possible on the Internet.)See
UK Medical Marijuana
Grower Acquitted By Jury –
Life A "Living hell" With Conventional Pharmaceuticals
and
How The Washington
Post Tells Its Readers
About The House of Lords Report On Medical Marijuana -- With Great Subtlety!
July 23, 1999
From The London Express on Sunday
express.letters@express.co.uk
By PAUL GALLAGHER
Page: 1
CANNABIS LAW IN CHAOS AS DEALER IS CLEARED
A MAN who supplied cannabis to the sick was cleared of drugs charges in a landmark case
yesterday.
Colin Davies admitted growing the drug, but argued that he was providing a valuable
medical service.
A jury accepted his defence and found him not guilty at the end of the first case of
its kind in a British court.
Their decision was last night hailed as an important breakthrough
by MPs, doctors and campaigners who support the use of cannabis for medical reasons.
It is also expected to increase pressure on the Government to change the law.
Mr
Davies, who uses cannabis to alleviate the pain he suffers from a spinal injury, described
the jury’s verdict as a "triumph for genuine human values".
Last year Home Secretary Jack Straw rejected recommendations from a House of Lords
select committee that the use of cannabis should be allowed for medical reasons.
See
Chairman of the House
of Lords Science and Technology Committee
Criticizes UK Government’s Rejection Of Report On Medical Marijuana
– 2 Articles With 2 of the Worst Prohibitionist Arguments
But the House of Commons is today due to debate a motion tabled by Labour MP Paul Flynn
proposing a change in the law.
Mr Flynn said yesterday: "This is a ground-breaking verdict. It shows that the law
is falling into disrepute.
"Cannabis has been used as a medicine for 3,000 years. What we are doing is unfair
and cruel - putting the fear of imprisonment into people who are committing no greater
crime than taking their medicine of choice."
Mr Flynn said 102 MPs have signed his motion, including 30 Tories and added: "The
law could be changed as long as the Government doesn’t object. I appeal to them to
let it go forward in the light of this verdict."
Gordon Prentice MP, secretary of the Commons multiple sclerosis
group, said: "I have argued for many years that cannabis ought to be available for
medicinal use.
"I hope to see that happen in the next few years because it does seem to give
relief to conditions which are not responsive to conventional medicine."
The Government has granted a licence for scientists to grow the drug for medical
trials, due to start in October this year.
Mr Davies was arrested after police found 26 cannabis plants being cultivated at his
home in Stockport. He had set up a non-profit-making co-operative to supply the drug to
more than 100 sufferers of multiple sclerosis and other illnesses.
The jury at Manchester Crown Court was told by prosecutor Howard Baisden that, no
matter what their views on its medical benefits, Mr Davies had committed a criminal
offence.
He said: "The law is that, unless you have a special dispensation by the Home
Secretary, it is illegal."
But at the end of a four-day trial, the jury cleared Mr Davies of all charges.
Previously defendants have been cleared of possessing cannabis
for medical use, but Mr Davies was the first to be found not guilty of supplying it as a
pain reliever.
After walking free the 42-year-old father of two said: "The jury have played their
part in helping people with a wide range of illnesses. They have given people like me and
them a chance that we might be able to get a little bit of stability back into our
lives."
Wheelchair-bound MS sufferer Andrew Caldwell from Huddersfield
has received cannabis from Mr Davies. He said: "The people of this country have
spoken and the politicians should please, please listen to what’s been said."
Last month doctors narrowly voted against a call to support the legalisation of
cannabis for medicinal use at the British Medical Association conference.
See
British Medical
Association Continues To Support Therapeutic Arrest Of Their Patients
Who Need Medical Marijuana, Perhaps Because It Easier To Get In Prison.
A spokesman for the Multiple Sclerosis Society said: "We would not encourage members
to break the law as it stands, but we sympathise with people who find it of benefit in
alleviating their symptoms and would ask the courts to be sympathetic, as they have in
this case."
A Home Office spokesman said the Government would only consider changing the law if
cannabis preparation had passed clinical trials.
July 231999
From The London Times
letters@the-times.co.uk
http://www.the-times.co.uk/
By Russell Jenkins
JURY CLEARS ‘MEDICINAL’CANNABIS GROWER
A CAMPAIGNER for the legalisation of cannabis to ease the pain of the seriously ill was
cleared yesterday of supplying the drug. Colin Davies, 42, of Brinnington, Stockport,
vowed to continue growing, using and supplying cannabis after he was acquitted by a jury
at Manchester Crown Court.
It was the second time in 13 months that Mr Davies, a father of two, had mounted a
successful defence. At the first trial he was cleared of possessing the drug.
Yesterday’s verdict, greeted by cheers from the public
gallery, was hailed by campaigners as a turning point in the fight to legalise the use of
cannabis as a painkiller. It was the first prosecution in a British court for the supply
of the drug for medical reasons.
Mr Davies, wearing a yellow badge with the words "No victim - no crime",
called for a moratorium on prosecutions and urged the Government to take public soundings
on a change in the law.
He said: "This verdict represents a victory for compassion over bureaucracy.
People should be allowed to use cannabis as a safe and effective form of pain
relief."
Mr Davies, a former joiner, broke his back in a 60ft fall from a bridge five years ago.
He walks with a limp and is in constant pain.
He says that conventional treatments prescribed by doctors prompted spasms and
sickness, so he turned to cannabis in desperation and began cultivating the plants in his
flat.
After he was acquitted on the first charge of possession and cultivation last year he
openly set up the Medical Marijuana Co-operative, which claims to
have 100 members. It offered to supply cannabis on a non-profit-making basis to people
with multiple sclerosis, cancer, paraplegia and other serious illnesses.
See
UK Jury
Acquits Man For Growing "Medicinal Cannabis;" More Pressure On Government,
Reports London Times
Police raided his flat last November and seized 26 cannabis plants, cultivation
equipment and details of the cooperative. Mr Davies was detained for six hours.
"The officers came round almost a year to the day that they last raided my
house," Mr Davies said. "I was in my sickbed and barely able to move.
"I have never denied that I have been smoking cannabis for my own use to help with
the pain I suffer, and to help to relieve the pain and suffering of others in the
co-operative."
Mr Davies had denied cultivating and supplying cannabis, possessing the drug with
intent to supply and possession of the drug.
The jury deliberated for three hours before returning the not guilty verdict.
Copyright: 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd
July 23, 1999
From The Guardian
letters@guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
By Vikram Dodd
UK CANNABIS IN THE CLEAR MEDICINAL USER IS ACQUITTED
The government came under renewed pressure to soften its opposition to medicinal use of
cannabis, after a jury cleared a man of possessing the drug with intent to supply, writes
VIKRAM DODD.
Colin Davies, 42, was acquitted yesterday at Manchester crown court after police raided
his council flat and found 26 cannabis plants and equipment to hasten their growth.
Mr Davies was one of the founders of the Medical Marijuana Cooperative, which grows and
supplies the drug to those who find it alleviates pain, and issues identity cards to
members.
The former joiner was said to have started growing the drug after a fall left him with
painful spinal injuries.
He was cleared of cultivating, possessing and supplying the drug.
The court heard that Mr Davies, of Brinnington, Stockport,
started using cannabis after side-effects from conventional drugs left him
"devastated". There was cheering and applause for the jury’s unanimous
verdict.
A motion by the Labour MP Paul Flynn for legalisation of cannabis for medical use is
due to be consid ered in the Commons today. It has the support of 182 MPs but is expected
to be blocked by the government.
A home office spokesman said the government would only consider changing the law if
cannabis preparations went through clinical trials.
July 23, 1999
From The Independent
letters@independent.co.uk
http://www.independent.co.uk/
CANNABIS SUPPLIER IS CLEARED
THE GOVERNMENT last night faced new calls to legalise cannabis for medical use after a
man who set up a co-operative to supply the drug was cleared by a jury in the first case
of its kind.
Colin Davies, 42, who started growing cannabis in his flat after suffering severe
spinal injuries in a fall, was acquitted at Manchester Crown Court of cultivating,
possessing and supplying the drug after a three-day trial.
The court had heard that Mr Davies, a former joiner, of Brinnington, Stockport, formed
the Medical Marijuana Co-operative with the aim of helping sufferers of serious and
terminal illnesses. He turned to cannabis after side-effects from conventional drugs left
him "devastated".
It was the first prosecution in a British court for the supply of the drug for medical
reasons, although other people have been acquitted for possession on the grounds of
illness.
Copyright: 1999 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
July 23, 1999
From Daily Telegraph
dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
JURY ACQUITS MAN WHO GREW DRUG TO EASE BACK PAIN
A MAN who admitted growing and using cannabis to relieve pain from spinal injuries was
acquitted on drugs charges yesterday.
Colin Davies, 42, also set up the Medical Marijuana Co-operative and supplied two
sufferers of multiple sclerosis with the drug. A jury at Manchester Crown Court acquitted
him on four charges of cultivating and possessing the drug with intent to supply.
Davies, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, said that he took the drug through medical
necessity after suffering the side effects of conventional drugs. Supporters of Mr Davies
burst into applause and shouted "thank you" to the jury when it returned its
verdicts.
Mr Davies, who sustained severe spinal injuries in a fall five years ago, was arrested
last November after police found 26 cannabis plants being grown in his flat. The police
raid on his flat came only five days after the Home Secretary rejected the recommendations
of a select committee that the use of cannabis should be allowed for medical reasons.
The British Medical Association has urged the courts and police
to be aware of the beneficial effects of the drug until research trials are completed. Mr
Davies described the verdicts as "a triumph for genuine human values".
He said afterwards: "The jury today have played their part in helping people with
a wide range of illnesses. They have given people like me a chance of getting a little bit
of stability back into our lives." Mr Davies, who has pledged to continue operating
his co-operative, said:
"When I started using cannabis to reduce the maximum doses of other drugs I
regained my life and my well-being."
Andrew Caldwell, 51, a multiple sclerosis sufferer from
Huddersfield, west Yorkshire, who is confined to a wheelchair and has received cannabis
from Mr Davies, said: "Mr Davies has done more today for the medical uses of cannabis
than anybody else in history."
Clare Hodges, 42, a former television producer from Leeds who is founder of the
Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, said she had used cannabis for seven years to help her
fight MS. She said: "I think this verdict means that further prosecutions are less
likely. Colin has been very brave in doing what he has done.
"For people to say that more research is needed is a
cop out. We know more about the beneficial affects of cannabis than the drugs that you get
on prescription. We estimate that 10,000 people with serious illnesses are using it now
and that is a conservative estimate."
See
UK Drugs Tsar Seems
To Endorse Medical Marijuana, Calls It "The Herb,"
But Things Are Not Always What They Seem.
A spokesman for the British Medical Association said it was in favour of research into the
benefits of the drug. He said: "In the meantime we ask the courts to look at cases
with understanding and compassion." A Home Office spokesman said the Government would
consider changing the drugs laws only after clinical trials.
Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport North West who is a long-term campaigner for the
legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use, said:
"It is a ground-breaking decision. It shows the common sense of the jury in
overcoming an outdated law. What we are doing at the moment is unfair and cruel - putting
the fear of imprisonment into people who are committing no greater crime than taking their
medicine of choice for their ailment."
See
Member of Parliament
Claims UK Government Moving Toward Medical Marijuana:
"It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when."
Some 102 MPs have backed a Commons motion tabled by Mr Flynn
which "deplores the criminalisation of thousands of otherwise law-abiding people who
use cannabis medicinally to relieve chronic pain".
Copyright: of Telegraph Group Limited 1999
See next story --
Scottish Police Cannot
Effectively Enforce Their Marijuana Laws –
Usually Do Not Arrest People For Simple Possession:
"The danger is that, because it’s unofficial policy, it is not always
consistent."
Supported