|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Cannabis man claims breach of human rights
Fife Herald
Friday 31 Oct 2003 A LETHAM man who claims to relieve chronic pain has said the threat of=20 imprisonment wont stop him from growing the plant. Colin Cameron was fined =A3100 at Cupar Sheriff Court on Monday and said he= =20 is prepared to go to jail unless he can find some way to pay the penalty. Mr Cameron, of School Brae admitted producing 10 (sic) pots of cannabis,=20 but a plea of not guilty to possessing the drug was accepted by the=20 prosecution. He said the threat of imprisonment won't stop him from growing the plant=20 which he uses to control crippling sciatica caused by an old rugby injury=20 to his vertebrae. Mr Cameron, a member of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance and the Scottish=20 Socialist Party, said his case highlights huge inconsistenciesin the law=20 and believes it could set a precedent for future court cases. Mr Cameron (57) said: How can I be found guilty of growing a plant which=20 I'm not, in the law's eyes, in possession of? This case created a huge=20 puzzle for the sheriff and the procurator fiscal and I think they were both= =20 put in a very difficult position. In March, Mr Cameron was admonished by Sheriff George Evans on a similar=20 charge after explaining that he was using the herbwith the knowledge of his= =20 doctor as a medical preparation to alleviate the pain of chronic sciatica=20 and relax his muscles. This week, Mr cameron's solicitor and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, told= =20 the court that nothing had changed in the intervening months other than his= =20 client's condition had deteriorated. Mr Anwar said that given the current contradictory stateof the law, Mr=20 Cameron and others in similar situations are being faced with "Hobson's=20 Choice". Either they break the law and relieve their pain, he said, or obey the law= =20 and suffer in silence. Claiming this situation was a clear breach of his human rights, Mr Cameron= =20 explained that no-one should have to suffer pain in order to obey the law. He said he also felt Sheriff Evans was almost apologeticwhen imposing the=20 100 fine. Mr Cameron added that without the plants, grown for his personal use, he=20 may be forced to buy cannabis from dealers and break the law further. I have been put in an invidious position by the law and because I can't=20 work due to my injury I can't do community service which is the direct=20 alternative to custody, he explained. Unless a means enquiry court lets me pay what I can afford, which isn't=20 much, I'll have to go to jail.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!