UK Judge Wants to Imprison Medicinal Cannabis Growers

SHEFFIELD’S top judge Alan Goldsack must be a very sad man.  He has threatened that anyone in South Yorkshire caught growing cannabis would be sent to prison immediately, and has started to carry out his threat.   Will he be sending people in wheelchairs to prison?

The Judge said " “Six out of the 14 cases on my list this morning involve producing cannabis on various scales.”

Well, Alan, that's your job to deal with the people that the police arrest and if they arrested fewer, you would see different people before you.  It sounds to me that you are complaining because they have all been up in court on the day day.  It is not the "fault" of one grower that gets caught that other growers that are caught appear before you on the same day - why should they be punished more heavily for that?

Rather than looking at statistics, ought you not be looking at the question of Justice?  You should be asking whether these people have done any harm or posed any threat to Public Health, Public Order, National Security or the Rights of Others - as demanded by Human Rights Law.

According to both national and international Human Rights Law there are strict criteria demanded before any authority can interfere with one's Private Life or Belief system - and if the activity is limited to ones Private Life and not involving others, that criteria is not fulfilled and the invasion (raid) by police may itself  be unlawful.

Surely the Judges should ask themselves whether the police raid and arrest were lawful or not before even looking at the case.

No victim, no harm, then how can this be a crime.  The fact that it may be against the law to cultivate cannabis  is NOT enough to justify the interference with one's life.

Worse still this judge is fully aware that the "punishment" dished out does not stop at the prison gates.

Judge Goldsack said " “A criminal conviction and jail is potentially going to ruin your life.
“It will potentially mean you lose your job and, if you are the breadwinner, that will impact on your family.
“You will find it difficult in future when you come out of prison to find a job because you have got a criminal record, particularly in the current economic climate, and there is a stigma that will remain with you for the rest of your life.”

So, Judge, by sending people to prison you are punishing them for the rest of their lives.  That cannot be right!

Britain, like many countries, has huge numbers of ill or injured people who cannot get any prescribed medication to ease their suffering sufficiently so have resorted to growing cannabis which they will say is more efficient with less risk of unpleasant side-effects.

In the Netherlands, Italy, German and other countries, cannabis plant material is available of prescription.  Not so in the UK.   The Schengen Agreement even allows people living in countries where cannabis is prescribed to them, to bring their medicinal cannabis with them; but if one lives in the UK and go and get prescribed cannabis abroad then one cannot bring it back to the UK legally.  That cannot be right!

In Canada, the High Court forced the Government to grow cannabis to meet the needs of the sick.  Not so in the UK.

One the contrary, here in Britain, our Government allows the Pharmaceutical companies to grow cannabis and to extract all the chemicals to make a spray containing alcohol.  "GW Pharmaceuticals" sell this whole-plant extract at extortionate prices, to the NHS.  It is called "Sativex" and in truth it is nothing more than cannabsi in alcohol with peppermint flavouring.

Yet anyone preferring to grow their own cannabis, saving the NHS money, doing no harm, easing their sysmtoms, will now be sent to prison.

Soon prisons will become hospitals - they will have to deal with people with serious ailments and injuries and pains - from Multiple Sclerosis to Epilepsy, Rheumatoid Arthritis to cancer.

We, the taxpayers, count the cost of these unjustifiable arrests, court cases, prison terms and pills.

We, the taxpayer, pay your wages Judge Goldsack, and we are not happy!

Judge vows to put anyone growing cannabis immediately behind bars : The Star, Sept 15 2011

SHEFFIELD’S top judge has issued a stark warning to anyone caught growing cannabis in South Yorkshire - immediate prison awaits.
The judge said the number of cases of production of the Class B drug was on the rise, and he was dealing with three or four at court every single day.
Many defendants were unaware they would be jailed immediately, he said - even if it was their first court appearance, they had no previous convictions, and they were growing the drug for their own use.
Judge Goldsack told one defendant: “Six out of the 14 cases on my list this morning involve producing cannabis on various scales.”
And he added a guideline case at the Court of Appeal earlier this year ruled sentences for cannabis-growing “should be higher than they had been”, and should “always result in immediate imprisonment unless there are exceptional circumstances”.
“The Court of Appeal - putting it in simple language - has said the courts have got to get tougher on this,” he said.
“Cannabis is a dangerous drug and those who bring it into existence must be punished.”
Among those jailed at Sheffield Crown Court were:
- Property developer Matthew Whitehead, aged 43, of Wightwizzle, Bradfield, Sheffield. He was jailed for three years and nine months after £94,000 worth of skunk cannabis was found in the garage loft space of the £1 million listed barn he was renovating in Cawthorne, Barnsley.
- Kevin Slater, 43, of Coltfield, Birdwell, Barnsley, who was given three years for producing cannabis, and possessing a Class C drug and cocaine with intent to supply both. His cannabis plants were found in the loft during a police raid on a property in Wisewood.
- Stuart Brown, 40, of Hay Green Lane, Birdwell, Barnsley, jailed for six months for producing eight cannabis plants with a street value of £9,140. His mother, who is suffering from a tumour in her eye and was accompanied by his elderly father, wept in the public gallery as he was sent down. The court heard Brown had lost his job at Mercedes Benz because of the court proceedings.
- Delroy Behan, 25, of Wellington Street, Goldthorpe, Barnsley, jailed for six months for cannabis production. Police found growing paraphernalia in the attic of the home he shared with partner Lisa Parton, 35, and seized five plants worth £9,070. Parton narrowly escaped custody after admitting allowing her home to be used for the production of cannabis. She was given a 26-week jail term suspended for a year and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Detective Superintendent Richard Fewkes, in charge of South Yorkshire Police’s drugs strategy, said over the last five years officers in the county had seized cannabis with a street value of over £40 million.
He said the rise in production could be linked to the downgrading of cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug five years ago.
Warning others not to get involved in the drug’s production, he said: “A criminal conviction and jail is potentially going to ruin your life.
“It will potentially mean you lose your job and, if you are the breadwinner, that will impact on your family.
“You will find it difficult in future when you come out of prison to find a job because you have got a criminal record, particularly in the current economic climate, and there is a stigma that will remain with you for the rest of your life.”
He added: “It’s very difficult to hide the fact you are cultivating cannabis, even on a small scale. We undertake targeted operations but we are often alerted by members of the public. Neighbours might smell it or visitors might become suspicious.”