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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Legalise Cannabis Granny Takes Fight to Downing Street
Rachel Williams Press Association
Wednesday 09 Feb 2005 A drug-dealing grandmother took her fight to legalise cannabis to the heart of Government today =96 even stopping to take some of it outside the gates of Downing Street. Patricia Tabram, who delivered a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair asking for cannabis to be legalised on medical grounds, tasted her drinking=20 chocolate powder laced with the drug as policemen stood guard behind her. The 66-year-old, from Humshaugh, near Hexham, Northumberland, was also meeting a literary agent to discuss publishing a book she has written and even the possibility of making a film about her life. In the lengthy letter, Mrs Tabram claims commercially-produced medicines are more harmful than cannabis. She claims that her dependence on the NHS has lessened since she started taking the Class C drug to help with health problems, including depression, whiplash back pain and tinnitus. The widow, who cuts an unlikely figure as a drug dealer with her grey hair and spectacles, sprung to prominence at Newcastle Crown Court in December when she admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply. She maintains that she laces her food with the illegal herb because prescription medicines make her ill and cannabis does not. She prides herself on her homemade herbal cookies, casseroles and soups and has cooked up treats containing the drug for neighbours and friends in her village. Mrs Tabram, who was not allowed into Downing Street because she had not made an appointment, said she was 'terrified' of NHS medication. "The cannabis masks the pain," she said. "It is a herb and I want people to call it a herb. It is no different to sage, thyme or rosemary. "It makes me feel pleasant, it takes away the feeling of despair and makes me feel optimistic about life instead of pessimistic." Mrs Tabram, who is due to be sentenced on March 11, said she would not give= up self-medicating. "They can put me in prison as long as they like," she said. She added that the number of people using the drug for medical reasons in her cannabis eating club, in which they swap new recipes, had recently jumped from 17 to 138. Mrs Tabram invited Mr Blair to visit her bungalow where she would make him= a cup of her cannabis hot chocolate to ease his aches and pains. A spokeswoman for literary agent David Godwin Associates said they would be= talking to Mrs Tabram about publishing her book, Grandma Eats Cannabis, and= other potential projects. There is possibly a film in it and certainly a documentary,=94 she said. Northumbria Police were tipped off about Mrs Tabram and twice raided her bungalow in May and June last year. They seized 32 cannabis plants growing= in her home.
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