Subj: Scotland: Court easy on cannabis used for pain



Date: Thursday October 15, 1998



Source: Press & Journal (Aberdeen)





Court easy on cannabis used for pain



A former addict found with ukp12.000 drugs walked free from the High

Court in Edinburgh yesterday after a defence that he had used them as

painkillers.



Inverness man Clifford Stirling claimed he had grown cannabis for pain

relief after sustaining leg injuries and a broken back.



Lord Prosser sentenced Stirling to 240 hours of community service. The

crime normally carries a jail sentence. Stirling, 37, of Birchwood

Terrace, was originally charged with being concerned in the supply of

cannabis and cocaine as well as growing cannabis.



A trial in Inverness last month heard police had recovered cocaine and

cannabis valued at almost ukp 12.000 from Stirling's home in a raid

last year.



The jury found the supply charges not proven but found Stirling guilty

of producing cannabis at his house. Sentence had been deferred until

yesterday for the production of a background report.



James Reilly, defending, said Stirling no longer used drugs of any

kind. He had become seriously addicted to cocaine but in 1996 went to

India to break away from his habit. A medical condition forced him to

return last year and he resumed taking cocaine. Stirling claimed he

was a heavy user of cocaine. To obtain the drug, he had to buy

quantities of cannabis as well.



He denied dealing in drugs. He said he began using cannabis for pain

relief after suffering leg injuries. He later broke his back in a

snow-boarding accident.



The Police raid on September 19 last year recovered nearly two kilos

of cannabis resin with a street value of ukp 9.600 and 31 grammes of

cocaine, valued at ukp 2.500.



Drug squad officers claimed the amount of cocaine found could be used

for supply purposes only. Defence witnesses argued that it could be

for personal use by someone who used the drug heavily.



Lord Prosser told Stirling he had been concerned the accused had

previous drugs-related convictions. They happened a long time ago when

Stirling was "pretty young".



Dr. Roger Pertwee, a reader of bio-medical sciences at Aberdeen

University, said later that there was evidence that cannabis can

alleviate pain.

 He said: "I do appreciate the courts are in a difficult position. The

law does say what he was doing is illegal but there is a moral

dimension here. If other drugs he has tried have not worked, for

instance aspirin, then it is really better in many ways to go for

cannabis: heroin or morphine are very addictive.



"If this man is in pain, there is evidence that cannabis can bring

relief from the symptoms of arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis. It is

quite usual for someone to be sent to prison for growing cannabis. But

for someone who has been taking cannabis for genuine medical reasons,

it (the sentence) seems to be a justifiable decision."



The debate surrounding the use of cannabis on medical grounds is

continuing to gather pace. Dr. Pertwee said: "It is very encouraging

that the public are so interested in this whole debate and can

distinguish between the medical and recreational aspects of it."