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UK: Smoking cannabis is the only way I can live a normal life - ex-police special Sophie Jane Evans Huill Daily Mail Wednesday 01 May 2013 HER chronic condition has left her in "unimaginable" pain. She walks with a stick and has to fight off agonising headaches, muscle spasms and fits on a daily basis. Now, Susan Lunn has been told she must give up what she claims is her only form of pain relief – cannabis. Main image for Westfield Home Buyers DO YOU KNOW ANYONE SELLING A HOUSE? YOU COULD EARN £350 Westfield Home Buyers View details Print voucher But – as first reported by the Mail last week – the defiant mother-of-one has vowed to continue smoking the illegal drug, even if it means going to jail. "I don't smoke it for fun, I smoke it because I need to," said Susan, speaking from her living room in Garrick Close, east Hull. "There is no way I can stop doing it – it's the only way I can live a normal life." Susan, 43, was devastated when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996. She had gone to the doctor's suffering from head and neck pains and stiff muscles. "I knew something was wrong," she said. "I was in absolute agony every day. "My head felt like it was going to explode, I couldn't control my muscles and I started having tremors and fits. "One day, I even woke up to find out I'd lost my sight although, thankfully, this was only temporary." Susan's condition quickly worsened, leaving her reliant on a walking stick, five types of medication and daily injections, which she had to administer herself. She was also forced to quit her role as a special constable for Humberside Police. "I used to be sent out in a van to deal with minor jobs or asked to accompany police constables," she said. "I was at Queens Gardens police station for five years and I really enjoyed it. "But my illness brought an end to all that." Susan, who also had to give up a paid job at KC, said it was "common knowledge" that led her to use cannabis as pain relief. "I'd heard from loads of people that cannabis could help MS sufferers, so I thought I would give it a go," she said. "I was in so much pain at that point, I was willing to try anything." But getting hold of the Class B substance wasn't easy for Susan, who had never dabbled in drugs before. "I didn't know where to go at first, as I wasn't friends with anyone from that walk of life," she said. "I eventually managed to buy some off a friend of a friend. "I still only buy cannabis from a few small-time dealers and I've never found myself in any danger." Susan had initially tried to get the cannabis-based substance Sativex through the NHS, but was told she lived just outside the catchment area. "I was told the Yorkshire and Humber strategic health authorities didn't prescribe Sativex," she said. "I was left with no choice but to go down the drug-dealer route." But despite now counting dealers among her "friends", Susan admits she wouldn't want her 12-year-old daughter smoking cannabis. "I wouldn't be happy if I found out she was doing it, unless she was suffering from an illness like me," said Susan. "She's getting to that stage where she could be influenced by people who smoke cannabis but she's a sensible girl. "She knows there's a big difference between my medical use of it and her friends smoking it for fun." Susan was smoking £20 of cannabis a day when she was arrested in December last year. She said she was "traumatized" when police raided her semi-detached home, after her neighbours smelt the drug and called 999. "The police said they would come back with sniffer dogs if I didn't hand over the drugs," said Susan. "They treated me like a criminal, but I feel they were the criminals for taking a sick woman's medication away." It was the third time in nine months that the police had turned up at Susan's home – and she admits it probably won't be the last. "I can't stop smoking cannabis," she said. "Most of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis aren't obvious, so people aren't aware just how much pain I am in. If they were, I'm sure they would understand why I do it." Susan, who pays for her £20-a-day "medicine" through benefits and a private pension, has already met plenty of people who understand her need to smoke the drug. Last week, she was joined in Hull Magistrates' Court by nine campaigners for cannabis legalisation. As she was handed a six-month conditional discharge – meaning she will be dealt a greater sentence if she is caught in possession of the drug in the next six months – her friend Carl Wagner shouted: "This is a disgrace". Speaking from Susan's living room, Carl, 54, said: "By taking Sue's medicine away, they are willfully torturing her. "Without the cannabis, she is in so much pain and can't lead a normal life. "The law shows a complete lack of humanity for MS sufferers like her." The father-of-six, of west Hull, has been campaigning for the legalisation of cannabis for 20 years. "There are so many people suffering from diseases like MS and cancer who claim that cannabis has changed their lives for the better," he said. "I just don't understand how it can possibly be illegal for people like Sue to cure their own illnesses." Susan said she had been "overwhelmed" by the public's response to her story. Since first appearing in the Mail, she has been contacted by national newspapers, websites and radio stations. Susan said: "The response has been absolutely unbelievable. "I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support from people all over the world. "I'm determined to take my story as far as I need to and I'm very grateful to the Hull Daily Mail for giving me a great start." http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Smoking-cannabis-way-live-normal-life-ex-police/story-18856071-detail/story.html#axzz2croY6syA
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