Pubdate: Mon, 06 Sep 2004
Source: Liverpool Daily Post (UK)
Contact: letters@dailypost.co.uk
Website: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/
CANNABIS CAMPAIGNER DIES
A multiple sclerosis sufferer who fought a legal battle in
an attempt to use cannabis to relieve her symptoms has died.
Elizabeth Ivol - known as Biz - from Orkney was taken to
court last year on charges of supplying and possessing cannabis. A family
spokesman at Ms Ivol's home in South Ronaldsay confirmed that she had died.
The case against Ms Ivol, 56, collapsed in July 2003 when
the Crown dropped the charges against her. Afterwards, Ms Ivol - who had
publicly said she wanted to take her own life once the case was over - was
taken to hospital in Orkney after being found unconscious in her home. -Despite
openly admitting taking the drug, Ms Ivol pleaded not guilty to the charges,
saying she felt she had done nothing wrong.
At the trial, Ms Ivol, who was in a wheelchair, said she
began taking cannabis to numb the pain, which she described as like having
"barbed wire going through my spine".
Kirkwall Sheriff Court also heard that she developed
cannabis Belgian chocolates and special cannabis patches to help alleviate the
symptoms for others suffering from the condition, which has no cure.
Ms Ivol said taking the drug relaxed her muscle spasms and
helped increase her appetite.
The court heard that her life had become almost unbearable
since the onset of her condition in the early 1990s.
Ms Ivol said she had toyed with the idea of taking cannabis
for two years but was unsure due to the stigma attached to its use.
At her home in South
Ronaldsay, a spokesman said the family wished to be left alone to grieve in
peace.