Source: Letter from Evening News, Norwich, UK

Pub Date: 7 Feb 1997

Author: CLCIA

WHY JUDGE WAS RIGHT TO TAKE PITY

May we congratulate Judge Paul Downes who "took pity on 36-year old John Crone who grew the drug (cannabis) to kill the pain of the muscle-wasting disease he suffers from.", giving him a conditional discharge, although we feel that it ought to have been absolute.

The therapeutic and pain-relieving values have been known for thousands of years, it seems strange that most politicians and judges ignore them. The numerous Government reports from around the world have concluded that the use of cannabis is safe, non-addictive, does not lead to the use of hard drugs and does not create any particular lifestyle. So why is cannabis still illegal? Why is Mr. Crone threatened with future court appearances if he continues to use his natural medicine? Could there be some hidden motive behind a law which enables pharmaceutical companies to produce dangerous and often ineffective alternatives (which we are sure Mr. Crone has tried)?

There is clearly some profit motivation behind the continued prohibition in the face of the evidence. It is time that the public (and the other judges) opened their eyes to the true evils of an unjust prohibition; the effects of this evil are all around - sickness, crime, pollution, greed, social alienation, over-crowded prisons, hard drug addiction and alcoholism .

The legalisation of cannabis is a vital move for our society. None of the main political parties wish to debate the issue. We, the people, need to send a clear signal to them. We can do this, in Norwich North and Norwich South, by voting for Howard Marks, our prospective parliamentary candidate for legalising cannabis.

CLCIA