Facebook closed down my book about my arrest, trial and imprisonment for cannabis conspiracies

 Facebook closed down my book about my arrest, trial and imprisonment for cannabis conspiracies
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0993210767/ 

80-year old man busted for trying to save his life.

My name is Tony Bevington. I live in Camborne, Cornwall. In March this year I will be 80 years old. About two years ago I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Kidney Failure. A condition for which there is no cure or treatment, that can be terminal with dialysis or transplants the only recourse. With this in mind and being very aware of the medical aspects of cannabis I started to grow my own medicine. I processed the plants for the oil and ingested it daily. But over the last six weeks have been arrested twice for growing my medicine. I did not wish to participate in buying from local dealers ( unknown quality and dubious source) Prescriptions out of the question , being a pensioner and aware of the existing medical reticence to it. But my blood reading (EGFR) have defied my doctors predictions and are improving. I take medication for Blood Pressure and use a vegetarian diet, apart from that my only medicine is my oil. I harmed no one. I did not benefit financially and possibly at no cost to the state improved my health. How on earth does prosecuting me help? regards,

P.A.Bevington. (Tony)

JURY NULLIFICATION - Acquit victimless crimes

Michelle X has recently been to court - some may say that the judge let her off lightly (I put a link to the article in COMMENTS below) BUT she has a conviction thanks to the people of the UK that sat on the jury, probably ignorant of their DUTY and RIGHT to acquit IF they believe that the LAW IS WRONG, something that few judges will allow said in court or they tell the jury to ignore it.

It is called JURY NULLIFICATION in the US and has worked, turning the jurors to acquit even when the evidence is of "guilt|

It has worked in the UK too - this is ONE POWERFUL WAY to defeat the INJUSTICE OF LAW.

SO........ how many campaigners and activists will push their clubs, associations and groups to participate in this CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE THE JURY by printing and distributing fliers, writing to the press etc - here is some more info and a flier to print

http://ccguide.org/jury.php

Woman who grew 40,000 UK Pounds worth of cannabis escapes jail after telling judge Prince Charles inspired her to do so

'I will carry on growing drugs' says cannabis campaigner convicted of having plants at home

MS sufferer avoids jail after she tells judge she thought taking Cannabis was OK because Prince Charles talked of its benefits on TV

Time for Cannabis - The Prison Years - NEW BOOK - INTRODUCTION

Paperback and Kindle now available on Amazon

http://www.buffry.org.uk/timeforcannabis.html

This book is not meant to be humorous, although a certain amount of humour is unavoidable, partly because the nonsense and inconsistencies which I came up against during the last four years, and partly because sometimes it hurts so much that one has to either laugh or cry. I fully intend to criticise the prison and the court systems, but not, I hope, unnecessarily, and, I also hope, positively.

This is not meant as a horror story, a fiction, or an analytical work, although I will admit in advance to colouring and flavouring events, changing names, and interspersing actual events with thoughts of the occasion. This is to increase the readability of what might otherwise be a very 'flat' book, considering the flatness of the system.

I consider myself very fortunate, even in this experience, as I have previously travelled to many different countries, and witnessed the different languages and customs therein, which I feel has enabled me to adopt a more detached and somewhat enlightened attitude to the strangeness which I constantly experienced. Many inmates are either the well learned ‘old lags’ who have been in and out of the system for years, or else are younger and more naive.

I was also fortunate to have already received an education, thus being able to further it using the institution's facilities and classes, able to write and read easily, unlike many of my comrades, and thus help the time pass easily and productively. I was also fortunate enough, for want of a better phrase although it may sound as selfish as it is, to have first arrived at a prison along with some acquaintances, and to recognise a few faces already there who I could turn to for help with day to day life. Once again I sympathise greatly with the young, scared and lonely convict or detainee.

Although it is only natural that I feel some anger and resentment against the way I have sometimes been treated, in particular by the courts, this emotion has never overwhelmed me.

I see so many things wrong with the world that Mankind has created, not least the way in which selfish and greedy individuals have polluted our beautiful planet and continue to do so, perhaps to the point of no return and the devastation of possibly all life. I fail to see how the Governments on this world, who often seem to me to be evil, can allow the future to develop in this way, ruining the chances of happiness and health for their descendants. In the sixties I grew up under the constant threat of nuclear devastation imposed by individuals so many miles away, whose identities would never be known to most of us. But this being bad enough, at least there was a chance of survival.

As the sixties have become the nineties there are so many problems in this world, any one of which will destroy us as individuals or as a race, including Aids, acid rain, radiation poisoning, the 'Greenhouse Effect', the ozone depletion, the pollution of the air, sea and land, space junk, chemical additives in our food and water, and on and on and on.

Add to this unemployment and the violence shown on TV, in video’s and in the press, to the point of saturation and ‘normality’, and it is less surprising what is happening on our streets. It has been said that by the age of twelve the average American child has witnessed several thousand murders on the screen, and doubtless a similar figure is true for British children.

In the East they say life is cheap, and death is all around, and certainly it seems that in many countries where overpopulation has become such an everyday burden, there are constantly civil wars or violent freedom fighters whom the various governments call terrorists. But do the governments and industrial bosses realise the terror which they daily cause us in our lives, through their greed? Is it surprising there is so much violence and crime in the country?

Advertising is a strange practice to apply to people who are unable to afford the goods or services advertised, and although increasing sales amongst the select few, causes nothing but unsatisfied desire amongst everyone else. Consider this story. It concerns a village deep in the heart of the Egyptian desert near Libya. I forget the name, but that is unimportant. This small oasis settlement had been there for hundreds if not thousands of years, the locals content to grow what they could, and keep their livestock. In years past they may even have profited from accommodating the occasional traveller. They were certainly unlikely to attract any tourists, unless some big archaeological discovery was ever made. Being short of power, having no electricity and little means of producing it, they were unlikely to attract much big industry.

The locals remained poor people, but never starved. They were basically content, having what they needed and most of what they wanted. This is the point: they had most of what they wanted, or rather most of what they knew about that they could want. Of course they may have wanted a better doctor, a panacea, a magic carpet, but these were merely dreams.

One day however, one of the locals had to traverse the desert to Cairo, for personal reasons. Suddenly, instead of being surrounded by friends and sands, he found himself in a huge city, some fifteen million souls, tall buildings, thousands of cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, people in all style of dress, restaurants, businesses and even more foreigners than the population of his home village. What did he see? Advertising. Somehow he managed to get hold of a television, battery operated, and having been shown how to work it, he took it home with him.

Fortunately, or maybe not so, they could pick up signals in the village and they were able to watch films, news and documentaries about a country and a world they never new existed. The children and young men were, of course, able to watch too. And what did they see? Advertising Young mini-skirted girls drinking cola, cowboys with their special cigarettes, the blond bombshell in the tight jeans, the fast car and the gorgeous lady who went with it, watches, stereos, holidays, household appliances and magical gadgets, and so on.

So, what happened to their simple needs and desires? They multiplied out of all proportion. They wanted all these things too, but of course they had no money so they could only dream on in frustration. Until one day three or four young men themselves set off to Cairo, where the streets were paved with gold and one could make enough money to buy some of the well and ‘successfully’ advertised wares. Unfortunately when they got there they found not thousands but millions of people in the same position, unemployment ridiculously high, the city impersonal and apparently uncaring, and their chances of even getting enough food for tomorrow rapidly dwindling. But not everybody was poor. Some people had cars, wore expensive watches and clothes, and drank cola, and presumably had many more modern goods to make their lives apparently easier and happier. So what did our young and impressionable brothers do? They stole. They broke into a house and took what they could. Unfortunately these men were nothing of the professional burglar, knew nothing of finger prints and forensics, and were soon caught. The result? Four more inmates in the hell hole of Cairo prison. Once again the advertising agents had done their job well, convincing the people that they needed the junk they had to sell!

Of course the situation in Britain is not as extreme, but nevertheless it is surely obvious that if one successfully creates an intense desire for something, in the minds of often uneducated and impressionable people, in a time of unemployment when their cash is hard come by, at the same time blasting them with crime on the TV, something somewhere is going to give. A percentage of them, being unable to earn an honest buck, will hit the streets, either taking what they want through robbery and theft, or dealing in drugs or stolen property, prostitution, or any of the many other ways of getting a ‘few readies’.

This is why the prisons are so full. Add to that the people who drink and drive, maybe take drugs steal to get money for their next hit to lift them out of their boredom and fears, everybody taxed beyond what they can afford, and the prison population begins to overflow.

Having stated that as my beliefs as to why so much crime occurs, I now have to say that this was only a very minor cause of my conviction. I will not in this book, attempt to discuss my personal level of guilt or innocence, but I would like to stress the view I had of my offences at the time.

My charges were concerned with cannabis, a so-called drug. Having consumed it for a number of years, and met untold people in nearly every country I ever visited, smoked with young and old, people new to it and those who had smoked very heavily for very many years, for social, recreational and also ‘spiritual’ purposes,

I did not and do not understand why it remains illegal! In its pure uncut form it certainly seems to have done me no harm, or anyone I have met.

No matter how much one consumes there is no danger for a reasonably balanced person. It has been said that the fatal dose is two kilos, dropped on the head from a great height! There is no heavy withdrawal, no side effects.

The real problems are that it is often cut with possibly damaging impurities, ranging from sawdust to barbiturates, solvents to boot polish and evencow shit, by the less than scrupulous illegal suppliers; that it is normally mixed with the legal and deadly poisonous tobacco; and that it remains illegal and therefore in the control of the underworld. The so-called controlled drugs are controlled not by the Government, who should concern themselves with the lack of purity of consumables, but by crooks.

Added to this are the many acclaimed medical benefits of cannabis to sufferers of ailments such as multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, asthma and arthritis, its pain-killing properties, and relaxing properties, and the uses of the plant - hemp, for the non-polluting manufacture of paper, linen, rope - all the old maps, Bibles, sails, ropes etc were made from hemp - its use as a food supply (seeds crushed to make gruel are highly nutritious) for humans and animals, and its use as a clean, renewable (two crops a year) and highly efficacious fuel, cannabis is probably the most versatile God-given substance on earth! Of course, it makes some people apparently lazier, but not all, and many of these become more creative even if only privately.

There is a vast amount of music and art forms produced under the effect of cannabis.

About 5% of the population admit to having used it regularly, and in private a great many barristers and other professional men. In private a great many individuals agree that it should be legalised, but are, like the majority of people living under Nazi control who witnessed the inhumane treatment of the Jews, too afraid for their own careers, and freedom, to speak out. The anti-legalisation lobby seems to be left, nowadays, with the completely unfounded statement that it ‘leads to other drugs’. True, 95% of hard drug users confess, when asked in a weighted question, that their first illegal substance was cannabis. But only 5% at most, of cannabis users ever take hard drugs. It is rather like using the argument that 99% of convicted armed robbers admit to owning water pistols as children, to bring about the prohibition of possession and sale of water pistols! Meanwhile, whilst those in authority and positions of respect usually remain silent, and the various campaigns for legalisation are left in the hands of often unemployed and outcast folk who have little or no experience of organisation, thousands of users and dealers remain in prisons, and millions risk their health by consuming street ‘crap’.

Let’s face it, even with the risk of incarceration, people still use it and will continue to use it, and continue to line the pockets of crooks, so it is really time that some government opened its own eyes, legalised it, took control of quality, gained revenue through taxation, and saved the time of police, courts and prisons. So, having said that, why was it suddenly made illegal in the 1920's? Some political reasons? Strange how the banning of cannabis and hemp suddenly created a vacuum in the supply of ropes and fabrics, shortly before the industrial giants put nylon on the market, and the huge petrochemical companies marketed their synthetics and polluting alternatives. I sometimes wonder if there was a connection.

I am not trying to excuse breaking the law. The law is the law, right or wrong, and the country cannot survive without laws. Judge Pickles, himself an advocate for the legalisation of all drugs, was correct when he said that people should not be allowed to pick and choose which laws to keep and which laws to break, that sort of freedom would be disastrous. Neither should such offenders be given leniency. In prisons there are many who would legalise all sorts of unpleasant things which they have been incarcerated for. Yet it is true, in the cases of the suffragettes and also the homosexuals, who sought to change the law by breaking it, that it can eventually lead to publicity and success.

I would, however, stress that very many people with similar experiences to me, never had any intention of hurting anyone, and mostly have never broken any other laws. Their preference for cannabis over alcohol and sedatives, has, nonetheless, resulted in their doors being kicked in, humiliating strip and personal searches, hours of solitude in filthy police cells and extended interviews often interspersed with secret threats and insults, confiscation of assets, collapse of businesses or careers, long periods in prison equivalent to sentences for armed robbery and often greater than for rape offences, and general alienation from their families, friends and society in general.

Why? All because they wanted to get high! Cannabis is used in prisons probably more than on the outside. The staff, I have been told more than once by members of that elite group, tend to turn a blind eye - it keeps the inmates quiet.

So, back to this book, like I say it is not the place to discuss guilt or innocence. Although I can hardly avoid ‘having a dig at the system’ and those who perpetuate it, that is neither my purpose.

Rather I want to present the prisons through my eyes, the eyes of an educated and travelled, non-criminally minded, and, as those who know me will agree, harmless forty year old male from Wales. I felt that by helping to organise contacts and introductions between suppliers and customers, I was helping people by enabling them to get a clean supply, by keeping them away from alcohol, hard drugs, and the dreadful tranquillisers and sedatives, benefited people.

Educated as a scientist at university, I was taught to examine the facts for myself, and not to blindly accept everything I was told.

This is all I ask of you the reader, to consider the evidence with an open mind; those who accept orders and laws without question are the true fascists.

The book is divided into four sections: the first will cover the nightmare of remand in custody.

The three prisons which I entered were category B, a maximum security, and a low security C category. I was on wings separated from the so-called vulnerable prisoners, as we call them, ‘nonces’, guilty of horrendous crimes which should not ever be even imagined.

Amongst the prisoners with whom I lived the hatred of the nonces was universal.

As for the others it seems that the longer the sentences the more respect the inmates had for each other. A man two or more years into a ten or twenty year sentence has an entirely different attitude towards his surroundings than a short-timers who is only ‘passing through’.

The main problems for the long-timers are the poor living conditions, being isolation from family and friends, and institutionalisation.

Frustration and helplessness, anger at the treatment of self and others, an authoritative hypocrisy, are what causes violence amongst these men.

This book is an attempt to portray what I saw and felt at the time.

http://www.buffry.org.uk/timeforcannabis.html

Misinformation: Portsmouth cannabis grower told police he was exercising his Magna Carta rights

In Common Law the question is whether or not the accussed person has done any wrong or harm to others or their property:  if they are found guilty they are deemed to have committed a "crime".

Other laws that have been and are being made by Parliament are statutes - subject to the political whim of the time and changeable: doing something against those laws, which mostly do not have what one could call a victim except the statue itself, are OFFENCES, not crimes.

The cultivation of cannabis within one's own home for one's own use, not involving others and not having a victim, banned under statute, is certainly an offence brought about by political whim, and, incidentally, undergoing change throughout the world.

 Here we have the case of a man basically sent to prison for disobeying statute, a man through his so-called offence has done no harm and who was in fact using it only for his personal benefit, being sent to prison.

In addition, we have Human Rights and one of those is the right to a private life.  The Bill is quite specific on this: authority must be able to justify interfering with a Private Life - there must be a threat to public health, public order, the Rights of others or national security.

In this case there was no threat and the authorities acted without good reason thereby themselves being guilty of breaking a law - and there is a victim.

"But Judge Crabtree added Dixon committed the second offence while on bail.
"He said: ‘It’s shows a disregard for the law.’"

No, your Honour, that was disregard for STATUTE - a law made my politicians - it shows disregard for political opinion - and neither is holding such statue in disregard o crime.

In the not-too-distant future people will look back at these cases and see nothing but injustice brought about by state employees to enforce statutes created by politicians.

If there is no victim, there cannot be a crime.

Portsmouth cannabis grower told police he was exercising his Magna Carta rights

Feb 3 2015, The News, Portsmouth UK

A MAN caught twice growing cannabis at his home told police and a judge he was a freeman of the land not bound by common law.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard the Southsea home of Niall Dixon was raided by police who found 65 plants growing in 2013.
The court heard that during a second raid in January last year officers found two plants in a growing tent, one in his conservatory and some dried cannabis.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hall said Dixon had told police that through Magna Carta he was exercising ‘his right granted by god to consume any plants that he chose to do and therefore the inapplication to him of this legislation’.
The court heard Dixon, 43, used the cannabis in juice form for medical conditions he suffered, including anxiety.
Judge Peter Dixon Crabtree sentenced Dixon to eight months in prison for the first offence and one month concurrent for the second.
He gave no extra punishment for the possession charge.
Judge Crabtree said: ‘You profess to be a freeman of the land not bound by common law.
‘I’ve no doubt that you hold the beliefs you espouse and do so genuinely.
‘In court that’s not led to any difficulties. You have conducted yourself well.’
But Judge Crabtree added Dixon committed the second offence while on bail.
He said: ‘It’s shows a disregard for the law.’
The court also heard Dixon, of Devonshire Avenue, shared the drug with friends – but only when they asked him to do so.
Judge Crabtree added: ‘He provided his friends with cannabis if they visited and wanted to use that drug but not on a commercial basis.
‘It’s accepted by the crown that the cannabis found was for personal use.
Unemployed Dixon admitted one count of cultivation of a Class B drug in relation to the first raid, another count of the same charge and one of possession.
The court heard he spent around £1,000 setting up his growing operation and officers had found the plants on the ground floor and basement in the first raid.
He had grown tomatoes and other plants alongside the cannabis in a growing tent, Judge Crabtree added.
Hannah Evans, defending, said Dixon told her his drug use had significantly reduced.
She added: ‘Niall has very firm views as to what his rights are and his position on what the role of the law is.’

 

Judge Pugsley described it as a "foul crime" because it led to the risk of addiction to other drugs."

"Judge Pugsley described it as a "foul crime" because it led to the risk of addiction to other drugs."

So is he saying we should punish people that grow or use cannabis because other people that take cannabis later take addictive drugs?

If that is so, then should we not be punishing those that drink coffee (itself quite addictive and certainly a drug) because some coffee drinkers later take more addictive drugs?

Should we not then argue to punish people with toy guns because some of them go on to get real guns and commit terrible crimes - or stop the licensing of guns completely - or punish all drivers because some drive too fast and have terrible accidents?

Or could we not simplify the law and only prosecute and punish those with victims?

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Derby-judge-s-jail-threat-arthritic-gardener/story-21144213-detail/story.html

Derby judge's jail threat to arthritic gardener who grew cannabis

Derby Telegraph
Monday 26 May 2014

A GARDENER who has smoked cannabis for many years to alleviate pain from arthritis rented a cottage so he could grow the drug. Julian Pinnington started renting the property about a year ago and set up cannabis-growing systems in two of the bedrooms.

The 43-year-old admitted producing cannabis but said that it was primarily for his own use.

However, he accepted that, if there had been a large yield, he would have sold the drug to offset the £350 monthly rent he paid for the cottage.

Derby Crown Court was told that a drugs expert estimated that the potential yield of the operation was 1.5kg to 4kg and could have sold for between £9,720 and £40,500.

Judge David Pugsley handed Pinnington, of Lyndale Drive, Codnor, a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for a year.

And the judge said: "I'm sorry, you don't spend £350 a month on rent, never mind the equipment, if you don't intend to produce a significant amount of cannabis – unless you are a complete buffoon.

"A suspended sentence in your case is not a light sentence as, if you smoke cannabis, you will be sent to prison. My advice is you give it up."

Judge Pugsley described it as a "foul crime" because it led to the risk of addiction to other drugs.

Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said that police found three growing tents and 30 cannabis plants in the property in Oakerthorpe, as well as evidence of a previous crop.

She said that Pinnington's fingerprints were found on the growing equipment.

Miss Allen said: "He was arrested and he admitted he had been a user of cannabis for many years and suffered from arthritis and used it to alleviate the pain from that."

He told police he used about £60 to £70 of cannabis a week.

The court heard that Pinnington, who was self-employed as a gardener, had no previous convictions and was a family and community man.

Nicola Hunter, in mitigation, said Pinnington had started renting the cottage after he received compensation as a result of a car accident.

She said: "He decided to use the money to set up a cannabis grow. "His view at the time was: 'If I grow my own, I can grow a huge supply for myself.'

"He says he has never previously sold any and the previous grow was a catastrophe and produced nothing."

Pinnington will be supervised by the probation service for a year. This supervision includes a drug rehabilitation requirement.

Cannabis users deserve protection not punishment, unless they harm others

How can it be fair to threaten punishment of victimless cannabis users because some people that have used it have said they have had problems or have committed other crimes?

If that logic is applied generally, considering the problems cause by some people that drink alcohol, then it also should be illegal and all drinkers would face prosecutions. Drivers too!

Cannabis users, like anyone else, should be punished if they harm others or break other laws - otherwise they deserve the same level of protection in law as people that drink - protection from drug dealers, protection from bad quality, credible point-of-sale advice, and profits on commercial cultivation and sale should be taxed.

If the idea is to reduce cannabis use, then clearly with many millions in the UK admitting to use, many times more than in 1971 the the Misuse of Drugs Act was introduced, the law has totally failed - all it has done is criminalised so many that had actually done no harm.

And whilst the numbers of users has increased so many times over the last 40 years, the incidence of mental illness has not - so there is little connection there.

And in any case those that suffer need doctors, not police, courts and lawyers.

Man bought cannabis to ease crippling arthritis pain" (Sept 30) - leave him alone!

Sirs, I refer to your report "Man bought cannabis to ease crippling arthritis pain" (Sept 30).
In defence the lawyer is reported to have said "He doesn't want to keep attracting convictions but he has to weigh up the balance between being in agony and unable to move and taking cannabis."
So the magistrate sentence shim to a conditional discharge - gives him the very same choice again.
Well I ask you, the reader, if given the same choice, what would you choose - pain or a plant that eases it far more effectively than dangerous pills with unpleasant side-effects.
There is a third choice - allow him or his carer to grow a limited number of plants at home for own use.
If he is not hurting anyone, it ought not be a matter for the police and the taxpayers ought not to be footed the bill for taking people to court when they have done no harm.
Alun Buffry
address
Norwich


You can write to: stephen.stray@jpress.co.uk
subject "Letter to the Editor" - include your name and address and refer to title of article and date (30 Sept)

http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/crime/man-bought-cannabis-to-ease-crippling-arthritis-pain-1-4314777

If they do no harm and pose no threat, leave cannabis users alone.

Sirs,

I read the story "Cannabis use brought on by grieving" (Carmarthen Journal, April 25).  The man Mark Phillips had apparently started using cannabis more often after his father died.  He was caught with half a cigarette containing cannabis said to have been worth £1.50 - "if it was whole, with its value estimated as "pence"."

What sense and what justice was there in arresting this man and taking him to court, where he was given a conditional discharge with £85 costs?

In this case, it is reported, the man was driving his car - well if that was the case and he was detrimentally effected by cannabis, he ought to have been arrested for dangerous driving.  But it seems that it was not his driving that attracted police attention but the smell.

There have been numerous studies on the effects of driving whilst under the influence of cannabis that show that there is little or no bad effect on driving skills and none at all if the cannabis had been smoked the night before as Mr Phillips claimed.   In fact, reports say that it makes drivers less tense.

Don't the police and courts have better things to do with their time - time the taxpayers are charged for?

Does the arrest and prosecution make anybody feel safer - did it prevent harm or risk of harm?   I cannot see how he could have been harming anybody else?

It's time the authorities stopped treating victimless cannabis users like this.  If they do no harm and pose no threat, they should be left alone, not criminalised.

Alun Buffry

'Cannabis use brought on by grieving'

Carmarthen Journa, April 25 2012
journal.star@swwmedia.co.uk

AN UNEMPLOYED Llanboidy man used cannabis to help deal with the death of his father, a court heard.
Appearing before Carmarthen magistrates, Mark Phillips, 30, of Old Mill admitted possessing half a herbal cannabis cigarette on March 26.
The cannabis cigarette was said to be worth £1.50 if it was whole, with its value estimated as "pence".
Prosecuting, Gerald Neave said police stopped Phillips, driving in his silver Peugeot 206 near Llanboidy.
He said the officer could smell cannabis from the vehicle.
Phillips admitted to smoking cannabis and handed over the drug. He was arrested and bailed.
During police interview, Phillips said he smoked half the cannabis the previous night, claiming it was a present from a friend.
Defending, Aled Owen said Phillips had a history of social cannabis use, which had increased after his father passed away.
He added: "In recent times he's started using it on a more regular basis after the death of his father, he finds it a way of medicating himself."
Mr Owen placed the value of a full cannabis cigarette at £1.50, adding: "The mathematics will tell you you're talking about pence."
He added: "He is trying to move away from this cannabis misuse brought on by his bereavement and is getting help through counselling."
Phillips was given a 12-month conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay costs of £85.

Man who grew cannabis as pain-relief sentence reduced but still unjustly locked up

Although I welcome the reduction in sentence, truth is that Matthews seems to have harmed nobody and simply tried to ease his pains with a plant he found effective and that he could grow in the privacy of his own home - NOBODY ELSE WAS INVOLVED.

I find it remarkable that courts, the legal profession and journalists alike do not seem to realise the difference between some form of medical dependency and addiction.

All people that take medication to treat the symptoms of illness or accident are dependent upon the medication until they either recover or it is replaced by something more effective.

The result of stopping the medication is usually a return of or worsening of the symptoms or pain.

Addiction, however, is completely different, depending upon the addictiveness of the substance and the person.

Stopping use of an additive drug is usually accompanied by withdrawal symptoms - new problems that were not there before the drug was taken.

I very much doubt that Matthews was a cannabis addict as cannabis itself is not an addictive drug.

One thing is quite obvious though - sending him to prison will not (has not) help his whether or not be was dependent or addicted!

Sending a person to prison for doing something to ease suffering of self - such being that there was somebody else involved - is simply unjust.

Had Matthews been suffering from MS, had he been living in certain parts of the country (some NH areas refuse to prescribe) - he may have been prescribed cannabis in the form of an expensive extract called Sativex, also containing alcohol that brings its own problems for some people.

And guess what!

Sativex is simply cannabis in a liquid spray form, contains all the chemicals found in the plant - but just about 20 times more expensive

Jail term cut for back pain man who grew own cannabis
By Stuart Richards, April 24, 2012, Get Surrey

A MAN who grew cannabis in his loft and used the drug as a painkiller for chronic back problems has been granted a reduction in his prison sentence.
Pro-cannabis campaigner Winston Matthews, 55, of Upfield Close, Horley, took his case to the Court of Appeal last Thursday (April 19) and had his jail term cut from 16 to 12 months.
The appeal court heard that Matthews - who previously admitted breaching a suspended sentence, three counts of cultivating cannabis and two of possessing the drug - was due to receive a deferred sentence at Guildford Crown Court in February, so he could get help for his addiction, but was instead sent to prison after saying he would "struggle" not to take cannabis.
But senior judges have now reduced the sentence, ruling that the original term was "too long".
Judge Paul Batty QC, sitting with Lord Justice Pill and Mr Justice Spencer, said Matthews was first given a suspended sentence in August 2010 after 56 cannabis plants were found in his home.
His flat was searched by police later that month, and again in December that year, and a further 42 plants were discovered during those two raids.
Matthews was told he would receive a deferred sentence, in order to give him a chance to find alternative pain relief and stop using cannabis.
But, speaking directly to Judge Christopher Critchlow at Guildford Crown Court on February 3 this year, Matthews said he could not guarantee that he would stop using cannabis to alleviate his pain.
He was jailed three days later by Judge Suzan Matthews, who said she had no other option but to send him to prison due to his "persistent" offending.
Challenging the 16-month jail term last week, Matthews' lawyers argued Judge Matthews did not take enough account of his physical and mental problems which had led to him using cannabis for pain relief.
Barrister Ben Cooper said his client grew his own drugs in order to "bypass" criminals and used cannabis because he had chronic back pain, following an accident as a teenager, and a depressive illness.
Mr Cooper said Matthews was not eligible for a cannabis-based prescription drug as it is currently only given to Multiple Sclerosis sufferers, but that he had taken steps towards finding a lawful alternative form of pain relief.
Judge Batty said Matthews did deserve to go to prison, but that the sentence should have been shorter as it was his first jail term.
He added: "Even where cultivation is for the defendant's own use then custody is almost inevitable. The courts have tried and tried again so far as this appellant is concerned to avoid a custodial sentence.
"No matter what the personal mitigation may be, the time has to come at some point when custody cannot be avoided and that time has come for this appellant.
"That said, this is the appellant's first sentence of imprisonment and we have sympathy for his position.
"We think it is possible to slightly mitigate the length of the sentence without in any way criticising the perfectly proper approach the judge took in this case."

Man who tried to grow cannabis in his shed for medical reasons unjustly punished

What an atrocious waste of police time and public funds and what a terrible injustice even taking this man to court.

Although a curfew is not exactly a harsh punishment, it is still too much.

This man does not appear to have done any harm or posed any risk, growing his medicinal plants in his private dwelling.

Now I guess he will have to do without the natural and safe pain-relieving effects of plants and turn to risky and expensive pharmaceutical preparations.

Surely the Misuse of Drugs Act was not meant to stop people growing plants for their own beneficial use.

We need to see the law changed and the medicinal value of raw and natural cannabis recognised in the UK as it has been in so many other countries.

Man tried to grow cannabis in his shed for medical reasons
Thisislancashire, April 16 2012

A MAN who attempted to grow 80 cannabis plants in his garden shed was cultivating the crop in order to deal with a medical condition, a court heard.
When police visited Derek Doherty’s home in Parkfield Avenue, New Bury, they found a propagator tray full of seedlings hidden behind a partition in the shed.
Joseph Allman, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court on Friday it was an “extremely amateurish set-up” with no high-wattage lighting, ventilation or irrigation usually associated with cannabis farms.
Scrap dealer Doherty, aged 41, told police he usually smokes five cannabis cigarettes a day and spends up to £20 a week on buying the drug.
Richard Dawson, defending, added that the attempt to grow the drug, which was to be for his own use, was “doomed to failure.”
He said: “In a cold, dark outside shed, in all likelihood the plants would have withered away.”
The court heard that Doherty, who pleaded guilty to producing cannabis, has received a caution for a similar offence a few months earlier, but was using cannabis in order to help alleviate pain in his leg caused by a road traffic injury.
Judge John Appleby sentenced Doherty to be electronically monitored and observe a 7pm to 7am curfew for four months.

Cannabis growers MUST be jailed says top judge as he ignores 'soft' guidelines and imprisons six men

When Professor Nutt, the Chair of the Government's own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the panel that recommended that the Government did NOT upgrade cannabis to class B again, spoke against Government policy in a lecture - he was sacked!

Now we have a Crown Court Judge openly speaking against Government sentencing policy on cannabis, using the courtroom as his soapbox - will he be sacked?

I doubt it!

Cannabis growers MUST be jailed says top judge as he ignores 'soft' guidelines and imprisons six men
Mail On-Line, Monday March 5 2012
By Chris Brooke

A senior judge has ignored ‘soft’ new drugs sentencing  guidelines by jailing six men for growing cannabis.
Judge Alan Goldsack criticised regulations that came into force last week and defied the authority of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
Under the new guidelines, at least four of the six offenders who were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court should probably have been given a community penalty.
Home-grown ‘skunk’ cannabis production is said to have reached ‘epidemic’ proportions in South Yorkshire, the area around the court, and judges there have been routinely jailing even low-level offenders in an effort to clamp down on the industry.
The judges have been following ‘clear and succinct’ guidance given by the Court of Appeal early last year, urging tougher sentences.
However under the new guidelines, the sentence range, if no more than nine plants are involved, goes from a conditional discharge to a medium- level community order.
Even where 28 plants are involved, the sentencing range is from a low-level community order up to 26 weeks in jail.
On Friday Judge Goldsack, the Recorder of Sheffield and the most senior judge sitting at the city’s crown court, sentenced 13 cannabis growers in one hearing.
He told the court it would ‘not be in the interests of justice’ to follow the new guidelines.


‘Suddenly reducing sentences, which have been seen as appropriate and hopefully effective in reducing a very common form of offending, would seriously undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system,’ he said.
In a lengthy address to a packed courtroom, Judge Goldsack said it was clear that cannabis was being widely grown in attics, cellars and bedrooms, and that a few plants could produce a substantial amount of the drug.
He said: ‘There is the clearest possible evidence of the damaging impact on local communities of this particular type of offending.
‘The hope was that before too long the level of offending would drop off dramatically once potential offenders realised the sentence they face if caught.’

Judge Goldsack said that in his judgment, where an offender has grown cannabis with an actual or potential yield close to or more than 1 kilo (2.2lb), an immediate custodial sentence is justified. He jailed six offenders and gave another seven community penalties.
Gary Woodward, 31, of Maltby, near Rotherham, was jailed for 15 months and Alexander McGregor, 23, of Shiregreen, Sheffield, was imprisoned for ten months.
Mark Bolton, 47, Matthew Taylor, 28, Gary Brearley, 45, and Robert Healey, 24, all from Barnsley, each received nine months.
All admitted producing cannabis, which prosecutors accepted was for their personal use. Woodward had four previous convictions for possessing cannabis and admitted supplying to friends.
Later counsel for several of those jailed indicated that they would be appealing.
The Sentencing Council is a  public body set up to promote a ‘clear, fair and consistent approach to sentencing’.
Members include senior judges, a magistrate, solicitor, barrister,  academic and police and probation service officials.
The courts ‘must follow’ the guidelines it publishes ‘unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so’.

Man grew drug in bid to cure back pain - punished for doing no harm!

Sirs,

There seems to be an absence of Justice in many UK courts when it comes to cannabis cases ("Man Grew Drugs in Bid to Cure Back Pain", News and Star, Feb 11)

Surely the mis-use of drugs act was not meant to stop people from growing plants to ease their pains, although the law does seem to give preference to pharmaceutical businesses that produce expensive pills and potions, including the whole-plant cannabis medicine Sativex, sold at too high a price for most people or NHS regions.

In this case, the "guilty" party (guilty without victims), Michael Richardson, according to the News and Star report, was growing cannabis for his own use but had said he may supply excess to his friends.  However,  the plants were not mature enough so why is the CPS talking about a street value of £6000 and " the prosecution intended to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to claim back any profit Richardson might have made from his crimes" whilst at the same time saying " the prosecution accepted it was not done on a commercial basis" - that does not make sense.

In a Just society, cannabis would be available to people that need it  and people would be allowed to grow their own for their own use in their own homes provided no threat or harm was done to others.  Take it off the streets and out of the hands of uncontrollable dealers - allow commercial cultivation and supply to adults and control the quality, protect consumers, tax profits and save a fortune on policing.

This case must have cost the taxpayer a lot of money and it has achieved nothing but forcing Mr Richardson to take pills for his back.

Alun Buffry

Man grew drug in bid to cure back pain
News and Star, Carlisle, Feb 11 2012
 news.carlisle@cngroup.co.uk
A MAN who grew cannabis plants in his bedroom because he thought the drug might cure his backache has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Police found 25 plants in two rooms when they raided Michael Richardson’s home in Barbara Plains, Eden Hall, Penrith.
He told them he had grown them from seed given to him by a fellow trader at Penrith market in the hope that they would help alleviate the back pain he had suffered intermittently since being injured playing rugby for Penrith 30 years ago.
Prosecutor Alan Lovett told Carlisle Crown Court yesterday that Richardson, 53, had grown the plants in an “unsophisticated” propagation system involving fertilisers, timers and lights from his tropical fish tank.
If they had been allowed to mature they could have produced cannabis with a street value of £6,000, he said.
Mr Lovett said the prosecution accepted it was not done on a commercial basis.
He said Richardson had started off growing the plants for his own benefit, but would have gone on to supply some of the drugs to his friends.
Richardson, who still works as a market trader when his bad back allows, pleaded guilty to a charge of producing the Class B drug.
In mitigation his barrister Marion Weir said he was on a cocktail of three painkillers and had hoped that cannabis might be able to help.
He had not had a chance to sample the drug he had produced by the time the police arrested him, she said.
Richardson was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours’ unpaid community work.
He was also put under an electronically tagged curfew to keep him indoors at home from 8pm to 5am every night for the next 15 weeks.
Mr Lovett told the court the prosecution intended to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to claim back any profit Richardson might have made from his crimes.
But Judge Peter Hughes QC urged him to think again since such action would cost more than the £6,000 that Richardson could be made to pay.
“I strongly urge you to consider whether the benefit to the public of the course you are seeking to take outweighs the possible cost that may be incurred by so doing,” he said.
The judge said that if Richardson had to pay such a bill he might lose his home – with the state then having to pay to find him somewhere else to live.
news.carlisle@cngroup.co.uk

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/man-grew-drug-in-bid-to-cure-back-pain-1.924146?referrerPath=news

Couple were growing cannabis at home - as is within their RIGHT in their Private Life

The Human Rights law that acknowledges a person's Right to a Private Life is quite specific about when the authorities can interfere - when there is a risk to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others ... and based on this article there seems to have been no risk at all.

Couple were growing cannabis at home

Daily Echo, January 18 2012


POLICE found 63 cannabis plants and some cannabis in a bedroom when raiding a New Forest house, Southampton Crown Court heard.
George Rickman admitted growing the crop – which the court heard was too young for a yield estimate. Josephine Warburton admitted possession but police studying images on a seized camera recognised her watering the plants by a tattoo on her back, said prosecutor Charles Cochand. The couple, both 45, of Setthorns Road, Sway, pleaded guilty to producing and possessing drugs. He received a 50-week suspended sentence with six-month curfew and supervision. She was given a 25-week suspended sentence with six months supervision and order for 150 hours unpaid work.

Decorator is victim of burglary... then done for growing cannabis - COMMENT

What happened to Justice in Britain

First a burglar invades the guy's house with intention of stealing his property>

Then the police enter the house and steal the guy's property.

Then he ends up being punished even though it was not the decorator that did any harm?

What this means is that anyone exercising their RIGHT to a PRIVATE life that becomes a victim of a crime and wants to report it risks becoming the victim of a bad and unjustifiable law.

This must change.

Kent On-Line, January 17 2012
Decorator is victim of burglary... then done for growing cannabis
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2012/january/17/burglary_victim_caught_out.aspx

by Julia Roberts

Decorator Daniel Wright came a cropper when his Greenhithe flat was broken into - burglars stole his cannabis plants and he was then arrested for growing the drug.
Police found the small-scale cannabis factory in a bedroom at Wright’s flat in  Courtyard Mews, Waterstone Park, after they had been called to investigate a suspected burglary on August 16.
Maidstone Crown Court heard officers traced Wright after stopping the getaway vehicle and finding his driving licence and other personal documents inside. They also found a bin bag containing six cannabis plants.
The officers went to his flat to find a window ajar at an awkward angle and a sidegate forced open.
Jo Cope, prosecuting, said they were concerned when there was no reply and forced their way in, only to discover more cannabis plants.
“In the bedroom they found two grow tents,” explained Mrs Cope. “One had 16 plants in and the other had six empty pots.”
Wright, 32, was not at home at the time, but was arrested four days later.
He answered the door and told officers: 'It was my cannabis. I was only growing a little bit.’.
As well as the plants and grow tents, police found seven fans, two filters, three lighting rigs and three transformers.
“While this was not an extensive site and was small-scale,” explained the prosecutor, “money had been spent on the equipment, and a reasonable amount.”
Wright, now of  Greenway, Bromley, admitted producing cannabis. The plants were said to have had a potential yield of about £2,000.
Imposing a jail term of six months suspended for two years, Recorder Brendan Finucane QC rejected Wright’s claim that he smoked 15 to 20 joints a day, saying that if that were true “his painting would be all over the shop.”
However, the recorder added there was no evidence of actual supply.
“I take the view it was coming close to it,” he said. “Even if you were a heavy user, I don’t believe for one moment you would have actually smoked all of this yourself.”
Wright, who was described as a long-term user of cannabis, was also ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and pay £340 court costs within 14 days.
It is not known what happened to the burglars.

If there is no intention to sell, how can a cannabis crop be worth money?

Time after time I read that some person has grown a crop of cannabis - sometimes matured, sometimes not - for his or her own use, with no allegation of intent to sell, then read that it is estimated to be of some financial value.How can a crop be worth money if there is no intent to sell?The article below is yet another example of how the press wrongly deal with reports of court cases against personal cannabis crop cultivation."Ramsell was growing the drug for his own use.."

"I am satisfied this was a personal use crop and not a crop for supply. But even those who produce cannabis for their own use can expect a custodial sentence."

"The cannabis would have been for his own use, it was a first crop and would never have been for commercial sale."

Yet the Tanworth Herald reports also:Prosecuting Pat Sullivan said the crop would have produced just over one kilo of cannabis that would have fetched £6,300 if sold on the streets.

How can it have been worth £6300 if sold if there was no intent to sell - what relevance is the estimated value?Why don't they tell us something that is far more relevant - the cost of the arrest and court case - the money that the taxpayers will be covering arresting a man that appears to have done no harm or had no intent to harm anyone with his indoor crop of cannabis?Add together cases such as this, it amounts to billions each year - now THAT is of public concern, that is hurting us the taxpayers - all in the name of stopping people from growing one particular plant for their own use.This must stop.  They tell us we are in financial crisis yet they unnecessarily and unjustly perpetuate a prohibition that soaks up our tax money as a sponge in water.

Tanworth Herald, December 8 2011

Addict who grew cannabis tampered with test samples
http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Addict-grew-cannabis-tampered-test-samples/story-14080141-detail/story.html

 AN "ENTRENCHED" drug addict caught growing cannabis at his Tamworth flat has been jailed for eight months by a judge.

Police found 34 plants under cultivation in a sophisticated hydroponic system at Lee Ramsell's home, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Prosecuting Pat Sullivan said the crop would have produced just over one kilo of cannabis that would have fetched £6,300 if sold on the streets.

Ramsell was growing the drug for his own use.

Judge Simon Tonking had given him a chance to go on a drug rehabilitation programme, adjourning his case on condition he stopped taking cannabis.

But the judge was told that Ramsell had tampered with his samples to produce negative results for the drug testers.

Ramsell, aged 31, of Juniper, Amington, admitted a charge of cultivating cannabis.

Judge Tonking told him: "I am sentencing you for producing cannabis. It came to light because you volunteered information about it when you were under arrest in relation to a different matter.

"The police went to your home and found a hydroponic set up growing 34 plants. I am satisfied this was a personal use crop and not a crop for supply. But even those who produce cannabis for their own use can expect a custodial sentence.

"You are an entrenched drug abuser and it is difficult for people like you to get off drugs. Despite the opportunity I gave you, you are still taking cannabis. I am not going to increase the sentence because you tried to dupe those testing you.

"Although you have been found suitable for a drug rehabilitation order, if you are going to produce false samples to IDAS (the drug advisory service) there's the chance you are going to do the same to the drug rehabilitation team."

Daniel Oscroft, defending, said it had to be accepted that the test samples provided by Ramsell were false. He had tampered with them out of a fear of being sent straight to custody.

The cannabis would have been for his own use, it was a first crop and would never have been for commercial sale.

Man caught growing cannabis has ‘no intention of stopping’

How can this man be blamed? What harm has he done is he doing to anyone (except the loss of profit to the pharmaceutical companies that would be selling him the NHS, costly, more dangerous and less effective medication that he may well have already tried. How can there be any Justice in punishing him and what justification was there for interfering with his Human Right to a Private Life etc in the first place. Human Rights law specified that there needs to be justification to interfere with our Rights even if the law is being broken, and that justification must be that there is a threat to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others. I would like to read the police court's justification. They will, no doubt, say that they are just implementing the law, but that is not justification

Hawick News, December 7 2011

http://www.hawick-news.co.uk/news/local-headlines/man_caught_growing_cannabis_has_no_intention_of_stopping_1_1993536

Man caught growing cannabis has ‘no intention of stopping’

A MAN caught growing cannabis claimed the illegal drug helped alleviate a medical condition.
Mark Makin said he had no intention of stopping using the class B drug, and producing it himself meant he didn’t have to buy it on the street.
Makin, 43, of Dovemount Place, admitted having cannabis and producing the drug at his home on September 2.
“His medical condition is relieved by taking cannabis,” explained defence solicitor Matt Patrick, “and that was the motivation behind him growing these plants.
“It also meant he was not having to move in circles he would have had to, to obtain it on the street,” he added.
Sheriff Donald Corke fined Makin, a sales assistant, £120, warning him his activity was illegal and would be closely monitored by police.
“I know that you feel fully justified in doing this, but it is illegal, and I have to uphold the law,” he told the accused.
“Because you have indicated you don’t intend to stop, you should be aware that the police will be keeping a close eye on you,” he added.

Bristol drug user grew cannabis to avoid dealers' attacks: Bristol Post, Nov 12 2011

“I have to ask what harm this guy did to anyone or their property, apart from creating a smell?

How much did it cost to take this man to court and at the end of the day, what will he do now - probably buy dubious quality cannabis at inflated prices from drug dealers.

And the taxpayer of course, pays the price.

Human Rights law guarantees every person in the UK the Right to a Private Life. In other words, we can do what we want in our Private dwellings, provided, as stated in the Act, that we do not pose a threat to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others. I don't see how this man did that.

It is his Rights that have been offended - by police - and it is us that have to pay. Meanwhile, serious crime continues throughout Britain and the rest of the land.”

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Bristol-drug-user-grew-cannabis-avoid-dealers/story-13828663-detail/story.html

 Bristol drug user grew cannabis to avoid dealers' attacks: Bristol Post, Nov 12 2011

A POLISH cannabis user who claimed he grew his own drugs to avoid being assaulted by dealers in St Paul's has avoided jail.
Adam Wawrzymak, 27, who also said he had not realised it was illegal to grow drugs for personal use, was found with 35 plants in his Lawrence Hill flat.
 One set of 17 plants was said to have a street value of more than £2,700 a judge at Bristol Crown Court heard yesterday.
Robert Reid, prosecuting, said police made the discovery on August 17 after investigating an open door which led to four flats.
He said: "They noticed a distinct cannabis smell emanating from the top-floor flat."
Wawrzymak opened the door and police found two sets of plants, one set which had been harvested and were drying out and a second set of 18 plants growing in the bedroom.
On arrest Wawrzymak, who works for a wine company, said he had a habit which involved him spending £200 a week on drugs but that after being attacked on a number of occasions in St Paul's and Easton he decided to grow his own crop.
Mr Reid added: "He said he never sold it but it was useful because it helped him to sleep and to control his appetite. He said it was legal in Czechoslovakia, where he has some connection, and he didn't realise it was illegal in the UK."
Rodney Wilson, defending, said Wawrzymak had been smoking cannabis for 15 years. He said that his rent of £200 a month and his earnings of up to £325 a week led to him having "a considerable amount of money to waste on cannabis".
He said previous acts of violence from drug dealers in St Paul's and Easton, coupled with the cost of his habit, had caused him to try growing his own drugs.
He said: "It was the first time he had grown the drugs and he had no idea how much he would yield.
"There was no evidence of any drug trafficking paraphernalia.
"He has no intention of cultivating cannabis again. He is not someone who goes out looking to commit offences but he has a drug problem."
Judge Michael Harington said Wawrzymak, who has been in the UK for six years, was before the court with two offences – the possession and production of cannabis.
He said: "I hope this experience has brought home to you the misconception that this is not a serious offence.
"My view is that the offence is so serious that neither fine nor a community order alone will suffice.
"I am sentencing you to 16 weeks' prison, suspended for 12 months."
He also added that he must undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work and pay costs of £250.

Bacup dad-of-three grew secret cannabis farm in attic

So if growing one's own cannabis is "selfish", I guess the judge thinks brewing ones own beer or making ones own wine, baking one's own bread and growing ones own vegetables is selfish too.

As for the "value" of the cannabis if sold on the streets - well as there is no charge of intent to supply, that figure is complete fiction as it has no value on the street unless it is sold!

Meanwhile, we the taxpayers still pay almost £20 BILLION a year "fighting" (some) drugs and have to watch police raid and arrest people like this for growing their won cannabis when they have actually done no harm or posed no threat - they should be left alone by police

in response to:

Bacup dad-of-three grew secret cannabis farm in attic

Lancashire Telegraph, September 4 2011

By Wendy Barlow »

A JUDGE branded a dad-of-three 'selfish' after he set up a secret cannabis farm in the attic of his family home.
Cannabis user Daniel Morgan, 30, grew 20 plants using a sophisticated hydroponic system which would have produced 800 grams of drugs with a street value of up to £8,000.
His partner knew nothing about it until a raid on their home in front of the children three days before last Christmas, Burnley Crown Court heard.
The defendant claimed it was his first attempt and he had started off growing the cannabis for his own use but would have gone on to sell some of it.
Morgan, of Rossendale Crescent, Bacup, admitted producing cannabis.
He was given 12 months in jail, suspended for a year, with 80 hours unpaid work and a two month curfew, between 10pm and 6am.
Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said police went to the defendant's home with a search warrant on December 22. He wasn't there, but his partner and two children were in.
Officers could not get in the padlocked attic and the defendant was contacted and asked to attend.
He arrived and produced the key. Police then found the plants, with heating, lighting and timers.
Mr Parker said two of the plants were sent off for forensic analysis and it was estimated each would have yielded 40 grams of female flowering head.
Morgan said he had got the plants from a friend for £50 and had read books on how to grow the drug.
He said his partner was not aware what he was doing, he smoked several joints a day, but not when the children were around.
Simeon Evans, for Morgan, said he recognised the offence crossed the custody threshold.
Sentencing, Recorder Dennis Watson, QC, said: "Your children should really be your priority, rather than any selfish taking of cannabis."

 

Nelson couple who grew cannabis for arthritis spared jail

I am sure that the Misuse of Drugs Act was not really meant to stop people growing a few cannabis plants at home to ease the symptoms of some terrible ailments and pains, including arthritis - and to the person who simply regards the users as liars and junkies - wake up, you are a fool to believe the Government and big Pharmaceutical companies that are ripping you off blind. By all means take their expensive pills with their risks of side-effects but there remains no reason to punish medicinal cannabis plant users that have done no harm to others. the law (injustice) needs to be changed immediately.

These people were not "spared jail" - they were given suspended sentences which one day they may serve if caught again - it puts them in an unenviable and cruel position of having to choose between pain and less effective pharmaceutical pain-killers with side-effects, or prison.

Nelson couple who grew cannabis for arthritis spared jail
Lancashire Telegraph, August 26 2011

A COUPLE from Nelson who grew cannabis to treat the effects of arthritis have been spared jail by a crown court judge.
Police raided the Sansbury Crescent home of Jacqueline Yorke and Kenneth Laird last December, Burnley Crown Court heard.
And when officers arrived, Yorke immediately started to cry and told them about the cannabis plants growing in her back bedroom.
Police found a sophisticated set-up in the spare room, with lighting equipment, fans and reflective panels erected.
Yorke said she suffered arthritis in her hip and had found the drug eased the condition.
Yorke and Laird, both aged 45, admitted producing cannabis.
Laird was given a six-month prison sentence and Yorke four months, each suspended for 18 months. Each must pay £200 court costs.
Laird must carry out 120 hours community service and Yorke 100 hours.