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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: MS Sufferer Feels Confusion Will Leave Her Classed A Criminal
Vicky Collins The Herald
Thursday 11 Jul 2002 A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer who grows her own cannabis for medicinal use said yesterday the reclassification of the drug would simply lead to more confusion and called for it to be fully decriminalised. Elizabeth Ivol, from South Ronaldsay, Orkney, supplies cannabis to people with MS and other illnesses. She could still find herself charged with dealing, despite the decision to downgrade cannabis from a class-B to a class-C drug. She will go to court next week when she will face one count of supplying the drug, as well as being charged for its possession and use. Although she welcomed signs that the government was easing its stance on cannabis, Mrs Ivol, 54, felt reclassification would do little to make her life easier. "It is all very confusing because we are still going to be classed as criminals, even if we aren't arrested when the cannabis is for personal use. "When I don't smoke cannabis, I get muscle spasms and I lose my eyesight. It can help anorexics because it enhances appetite and glaucoma sufferers have also found it improves their sight. "It is the politicians who are criminals, not us. They are stopping sick people using something that can really help them." However, anti-drugs and anti-smoking groups were concerned that cannabis itself posed a serious health risk and were concerned at the effect reclassification would have on young people, who might see it as a green light to take the drug regularly. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) said that smoking cannabis was at least as harmful as smoking tobacco and might carry a higher risk of some respiratory cancers. It is conducting a review of the published medical and scientific evidence on the impact of smoking cannabis on lung health. The report, A Smoking Gun? The Impact of Smoking Cannabis on Respiratory Health, is expected to indicate that cannabis smokers are at an increased risk of cancers and infections. Helena Shovelton, chief executive of BLF, said: "The government spends millions of pounds a year on smoking cessation and public education about the dangers of smoking, yet smoking cannabis is at least as harmful as smoking tobacco and, indeed, may carry a higher risk of some respiratory cancers." Ash Scotland, an anti-smoking group, warned that, as well as the possible health risks of cannabis, the addictive qualities of the tobacco that many people use with it when making joints can lead them to smoke ordinary cigarettes on a regular basis. Tanith Muller, the group's spokeswoman, added: "There are no filters on joints and also the way they are smoked, with people tending to inhale much more deeply, does give us concerns. "We would be keen to emphasise that 100 times more people in Scotland die every year from tobacco-related diseases than they do from illegal drugs."
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