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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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No right to block Biz's suicide plan
Fiona Miller Sunday Post, Dundee
Saturday 21 Jun 2003 ATTEMPTS by social workers to stop a woman taking her own life would breach her human rights, according to a top Scottish lawyer. MS sufferer Biz Ivol (55), of South Ronaldsay in Orkney, has threatened to take her own life after her trial for cultivating, possessing and supplying cannabis is over. Biz has already taken delivery of a cardboard coffin and says she will commit suicide because she believes her condition has left her with no quality of life. But Glasgow lawyer Cameron Fyfe says that if social workers or anybody else attempted to prevent her from killing herself then her human rights would be breached. Mr Fyfe said, It is an intriguing case I dont think anyone can do anything about it if she wants to carry out her threat. She isn't mentally ill, so she is entitled to do what she wishes. Wheelchair-bound Biz, who is wheelchair-bound, is pleading not guilty to supplying cannabis to other sufferers of the disease, at Kirkwall Sheriff Court in Orkney. Her trial has been adjourned until July 2. Speaking at her home yesterday, she said, "I've tried all sorts of drugs, and nothing works except cannabis. "After my plants were taken in the raid by police two years ago, I got some more and am still growing them. My trial has been very stressful and I have been told one thing you're meant to avoid is stress. "Cannabis can not only help MS, but other conditions such as neurological disorders and arthritis. It's not like a nasty chemical - it is a God-given plant. "I don't have any quality of life. A nurse comes to get me up between 9 am and 10 am and plonks me in the wheelchair where I sit until 3 am when someone puts me back in bed." Biz's case has attracted interest from the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, which has started an Internet petition backing her. The Scottish Socialist Party has tabled a motion urging the Scottish Parliament to support her. When asked what plans they have for dealing with her suicide plan, a spokesman for Orkney Islands Council said, "We cannot comment on individual cases, but we do try to provide good quality care."
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