CANNABIS
CAMPAIGNER FREED FROM JAIL
Source: The
Argus, Worthing, UK
Pub Date:
Thursday 26 February 2004
Author: Huw
Borland
URL: http://www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk/brighton__hove/archive/2004/02/26/NEWS290ZM.html
Contact:
letters@theargus.co.uk
Ref: Chris
Baldwin http://www.ccguide.org/chrisbaldwin.php
CANNABIS
CAMPAIGNER FREED FROM JAIL
Cannabis
campaigner Chris Baldwin was offered the drug in jail but turned it down
because it was of such poor quality.
The self-styled
marijuana martyr was relaxing at home yesterday after being freed from a
six-month prison sentence after six-and-a-half weeks.
He said: "I
was offered cannabis once but it was 'soap bar' and really low-grade gear. I
campaign against it and he wanted to sell me half an ounce of the stuff."
During his
incarceration Mr Baldwin, who suffers from spastic paraplegia, put up with
painful cramps, leg spasms and sleepless nights.
Now half a stone
lighter and distinctly greyer, the 53-year-old, of Carnegie Close, Worthing,
must wear an electronic tag around his wrist for another three months.
Mr Baldwin was
the mastermind behind a series of Amsterdam-style coffee shops in Worthing, an
enterprise which prompted months of police raids, arrests and court
appearances.
He was jailed at
Chichester Crown Court on January 9, convicted of allowing cannabis to be used
at a property and having cannabis with intent to supply at his Quantum Leaf
cafe in Rowlands Road.
His problems
began, he says, within minutes of his arrival at Highdown prison, Surrey.
Staff took days
to arrange a vegan diet that suited him.
But a few hunger
pangs were nothing compared with cannabis deprivation.
Mr Baldwin
insists the drug helps his condition without the unpleasant side-effects of
stronger pharmaceutical drugs.
He said: "I
was okay on the first night in jail because I had eaten and smoked cannabis before
going to court.
"But the
next day I was in the depths of despair. With no medication my leg muscles
tightened up, I got severe cramps and could barely pee.
"The prison
doctor gave me Valium. I took it for four weeks and felt like a zombie.
"I've smoked
cannabis for 35 years and there is one thing I've discovered - there are no
withdrawal symptoms. I had no problems coming off it but the difference it made
to my legs was immense.
"On
cannabis I function perfectly well. On Valium I would not be able to think
straight.
"I did not
like having to take Valium but when my legs are in spasm I have to stretch and
punch them to ease the pain."
Mr Baldwin said
other inmates took care of disabled prisoners, ensuring they were not picked on
or taken advantage of. Many gave him their portions of Weetabix and fruit so he
had enough to eat.
Bladder problems
meant Mr Baldwin, who uses elbow crutches to walk, only slept for two or three
hours a night.
He said:
"When you're not sleeping you're doing double time. If you get eight
hours' sleep, you're sleeping a third of your sentence."
Having spent his
first day of freedom with his family on Tuesday, Mr Baldwin said he was
enjoying good food and thanking the 257 people who sent him cards during his
time in jail.
However, the
harsh realities of being a spastic paraplegic in prison have convinced him not
to supply cannabis again.
Still adamant
that the drug should be legalised, he said: "I do not agree with the law
that put me in prison but I do understand the mechanics.
"I pushed
it so far the judge said he reluctantly had no choice but to send me
down."
Mr Baldwin plans
to write a book about his political career as a Legalise Cannabis Alliance
candidate in the 2001 General Election, his cannabis cafes and his experience
in jail.