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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Come and Arrest Me
Plymouth Herald
Saturday 27 Jan 2007 A musician who suffers from crippling pain which he says is only relieved by smoking marijuana has challenged police to arrest him.A few years ago Stuart Wyatt (pictured right) was a successful violinist with Irish/Celtic rock bands like Mad Dog Mcrea and Black Friday. He would earn good money playing for bands, busking in Paris, producing his own material. Now he lives on income support, isolated in his room in a house in Morice Town. Despite requests by former bandmates to continue with the bands, to record and perform at gigs, he says he is physically unable. Stuart has now openly said he will not only use herbal cannabis to combat the effects of his as-yet undiagnosed condition, but will supply the illegal drug to sufferers of ME - often known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - and Multiple Sclerosis. If arrested and charged, he could face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Plymouth's top policeman, Chief Superintendent Morris Watts, said that while he sympathised with Stuart and his condition, the law did not allow anyone, under any circumstances, to supply cannabis. Stuart said: "I am not a criminal. But I have to act like one, behave like one, deal with real criminals. I worry about the knock at the door." His stance follows the sentencing yesterday of three activists, one of whom suffers from MS, in Carlisle for supplying the class C drug. The three members of the campaign group Therapeutic Help for Cannabis for Multiple Sclerosis (THC4MS) were handed nine-month suspended jail sentences for supplying MS sufferers with herbal cannabis on a non-profit basis. Stuart says he is now determined to fight for what he describes is his 'moral right' to self-medicate with the illegal drug. Though aged just 34, he says he often feels 'like a crippled 80-year-old'. He added: "I used to have a life. Now I can barely make it into town." To date, doctors have been unable to accurately diagnose the causes of Stuart's condition, first saying it was 'irritable bowel syndrome', then 'chronic fatigue syndrome', then possibly MS. He said: "My main symptoms are severe nerve pain, uncontrollable shaking, loss of co-ordination, loss of balance, numbness in my legs, a stabbing pain in the gut, chronic mental and physical fatigue and insomnia. "They come and go in waves. During the three years I have been ill, I've been put on some ridiculous medication - Gabapentin, Amitryptiline, Fluoxetine - I've lost my mind on these drugs. I acted irrationally and I lost a lot of friends." Stuart says he gave up on prescribed drugs last October after a particularly low period, so low he admits he attempted an overdose. He said: "I have known since day one that when I smoke good herbal cannabis, I seem to feel better. I don't hurt as much, I don't shake as much, I seem to have energy to do things, my body doesn't feel so tired, my mind clears and I can actually think. "I don't use it for recreational use - I use it for medical use, so I can lead a normal life like everyone else. Why should that be illegal?" Stuart has started his campaign through the forum of the THC4MS website and his own website, as well as by visiting Charles Cross police station to make his intentions plain. He said: "I asked the officer for legal advice and what were the implications of what I was proposing to do. They didn't really have an answer - one officer just wished me luck and sent me on my way. "I'm not scared or apprehensive. "Prison doesn't bother me because my life is a prison. I may as well be inside the amount of time I spend trapped in my room, locked up 23-hours a day. I'd probably get better health care, probably a better supply of drugs and a regular meal. "I have nothing left to lose. A criminal record doesn't worry me as I'm unemployable. "If I do get arrested hopefully someone can step into my shoes and continue the fight. So many people believe this cause is right. I know I am morally right and I stand behind what I'm doing." Stuart admits he is already guilty of producing 'tinctures, chocolate and creams' made from herbal cannabis and of giving them to MS sufferers, as well as advising them how to make their own medication from cannabis. He insists he will give the herbal cannabis free to those who can prove they have a medical condition which benefits from the drug. He said: "The only money I will accept will be for growing premises, administration, postal, rental of equipment and post office box to accept money or anything else - including herbal cannabis. "Cannabis gives me a life. It gives me control over my body. I want to keep it that way." To find out more about Stuart's campaign, visit his website: www.swyatt.com www.thc4ms.org.uk Should cannabis be proscribed or prescribed? Join the debate at our forum http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/discuss http://thisisplymouth.co.uk/
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