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UK: MS sufferer admits giving cannabis to other victims
John Ross The Scotsman
Friday 20 Jun 2003 A WHEELCHAIR-bound multiple sclerosis sufferer described yesterday how she made cannabis chocolates to help alleviate the suffering of others with the condition. Elizabeth Ivol, also know as Biz, told a court she began taking cannabis to numb the pain from MS, which she described as like having "barbed wire going through my spine". Ivol, 55, of South Ronaldsay in Orkney, is on trial at Kirkwall Sheriff Court charged with cultivating, possessing and supplying the drug. She said she eventually agreed to help other MS sufferers by developing the chocolates and cannabis patches to be applied directly to the skin. In her evidence, she said her former island GP had recommended using cannabis after she had tried a long list of legal medication - some of which resulted in "horrific" side effects. She told the court she came up with the idea, along with others, of developing the cannabis chocolates after agreeing to help a non-smoking MS sufferer. Ivol said: "We had to figure out a way of getting cannabis into his system - he did not smoke - and thats how the cannabis chocolate came about." Ivol said that while undertaking research into the drug, she found that combining it with animal fat increased its relaxing effects. Although she said she was in regular contact with others about the use of cannabis, she stressed she was only approached by others and "never actually encouraged anybody to use cannabis". The court heard that Ivols day-to-day life had become almost unbearable due to the onset of her condition, which was diagnosed in the early 1990s. She told the court: "At the moment I feel like somebodys pulling barbed wire through my spine. I have muscle spasms and my eyesights failing, but it has not gone yet. It is very, very painful. "Im completely and utterly paralysed from the neck down. A nurse comes to get me up between 9am and 10am and plonks me in the wheelchair where I sit until about 3pm when somebody comes and puts me back to bed, and thats it. "I can make myself a cup of tea, if my hands are alive, and answer the phone. Usually, by 1pm, my fingers are paralysed. I cant even hold a pen." Ivol told the court that over the years she had taken prescription medication as well as special diets, but nothing seemed to work. One type of tranquilliser left her "looking like a zombie and gazing out of the window". Although apprehensive at first, Ivol eventually began smoking one cannabis joint each evening. She said she had toyed with the idea of using the drug for two years but was unsure because of the stigma attached to its use. But using cannabis relaxed her muscle spasms and acted as an appetite stimulant, she added. "It was either cannabis or nothing. I tried everything else and nothing worked," she said. "It got to the point where I felt that nobody was doing anything for MS and when you find something that does alleviate the symptoms you go for it. "It is not like a nasty chemical drug. It is a natural, God-given plant." Under cross-examination by Sue Foard, the procurator fiscal, Ivol admitted to the court she had possessed, produced and supplied cannabis, the charges she had pled not guilty to. Asked by Miss Foard why she had not pled guilty, Ivol replied that she did not think she was doing anything wrong. The trial was adjourned until 2 July. Last week, Ivol, 56, took delivery of a cardboard coffin and says she will commit suicide after the trial as she believes her condition has left her with no quality of life. The Scottish Socialist Party has tabled a motion urging the Scottish Parliament to send a message of support to Ivol and calling for more money to go into research of MS treatments, including the medical use of cannabis. An internet petition was also started this week by the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, which has raised the issue with Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, and David Blunkett, the Home Secretary.
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