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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Musician's Charge Highlights Drugs Row
Jonathan Barnes East Anglian Daily Times
Tuesday 10 Jul 2001 A Suffolk musician will today highlight the nationwide debate over the legalisation of cannabis when he appears in court charged with possessing the drug. John Ramirez, who admits he smokes cannabis, will appear before Ipswich magistrates this afternoon. Detectives found a "small lump" of the drug during a raid at his Ipswich home, but Mr Ramirez says he will be denying the charge -- claiming police have infringed his human rights. Last night, he argued officers were wrong to raid his home and seize the drug, and believes their limited resources would be better deployed targeting "real" criminals. Suffolk Constabulary last night said they treated all drug offences seriously, and took appropriate action in relation to their severity. The case comes at a time when the national debate over the legalisation of cannabis continues to rumble. Some people argue cannabis should be legalised, as it is in some European countries, and that police efforts should be aimed at so-called "hard" drugs. But others say to legalise cannabis would be a dangerous step towards legitimising drug use, and that cannabis usage can lead to abuse of "harder" drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Mr Ramirez, 36, will plead not guilty to a charge of possessing a Class B drug when he appears at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court in Ipswich this afternoon, using legislation from the European Convention of Human Rights as his defence. The multi-talented instrumentalist, a performing arts student at Suffolk College, believes his basic human rights have been infringed after discovering police had raided the home he shares with his wife and eight-year-old son in east Ipswich on Thursday evening. After being charged and summonsed to appear in court today, Mr Ramirez said: "I am being made to feel like a criminal for smoking cannabis in the privacy of my own home. Why aren't the police putting their resources into dealing with the real criminals?" The performing arts student, who is also a qualified chef, criticised the proceedings against him which come as some senior politicians are calling for cannabis to be legalised. Last week, the Metropolitan Police began a "radical" experiment in the London borough of Lambeth, meaning people caught in possession of the drug will not be prosecuted. Mr Ramirez said he discovered the extent of the police raid after returning from a folk music night with his wife at the Steamboat Tavern pub on Thursday. "They had found a small lump of cannabis inside a tin in the kitchen. They were heavy handed and excessive and I feel like my home has been raped -- although they were within their rights," he said. Similar cases where defendants are using the Human Rights Act of 1998 to argue their case against possession charges are taking place across the country, and Mr Ramirez is determined to plead not guilty to the charge after receiving a caution in an almost identical situation two months ago. His defence is based upon article eight of the act -- the right to respect for private and family life. "This is standing up for the rights of the people to smoke cannabis in their own home. I use cannabis for concentration and inspiration -- it helps me relax at the end of the day and to concentrate on my work as a musician and as a performing arts student," he said. "I was so surprised when that amount of resources were used to find such a small amount of cannabis. How much did that cost them? There are heroin and crack dealers out there -- why are the resources not going towards catching them." Mr Ramirez is a familiar figure in the town's music scene, playing melodian, keyboards and guitar with local bands Kwerk and Pay The Reckoning. He also writes music for theatre productions but said the stress and fear caused by the police raid had made his family feel like selling up and leaving. But Alun Buffry, of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, said top barristers felt Mr Ramirez and defendants facing similar cases had an "excellent chance" of successfully using the human rights defence. "Our view is that the police are infringing upon article eight by going into people's homes for such small amounts of cannabis. Unless they are threatening security or public health there is no cause for police to be taking that course of action," he said. Suffolk Constabulary declined to comment on Mr Ramirez's case but a spokesperson told the EADT: "We treat all drug offences seriously. As with all crime, the action taken depends on the nature and severity of the particular offence. "Suffolk's prosecution and diversion policy, which has been in place for several years, is designed to give investigating officers the flexibility to treat all offenders appropriately, including those who commit drug offences with the intention of preventing re-offending."
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