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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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MS Victim is Cleared of Cannabis Charge After 4-Day Trial
News and Star, Carlisle Thursday 30 Nov 2000 ART: MS VICTIM IS CLEARED OF CANNABIS CHARGE AFTER 4-DAY TRIAL Pub Date: Saturday September 30, 2000 MS VICTIM IS CLEARED OF CANNABIS CHARGE AFTER 4-DAY TRIAL A CUMBRIAN multiple sclerosis sufferer has vowed to keep using cannabis after a jury found she was entitled to use the drug on medical grounds. Lezley Gibson, of Front Street, Alston, was found not guilty of possession of cannabis at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday. Asked after the trial if she would continue smoking the drug, Mrs Gibson replied: "I certainly will. I'm still aware they can come back and do it again, but I am not prepared to let myself be wheelchair bound and incontinent." Mrs Gibson, who never denied using cannabis, was arrested after policeraided her house in August and found £32 worth of the drug. But a jury of five men and seven women accepted her defence that she honestly and reasonably believed not taking cannabis would cause serious injury. During a four-day trial, the court heard how Mrs Gibson was diagnosed with MS in 1985 after a serious attack left her paralysed on the right side of her body. A course of steroids prescribed by doctors caused her to double her weight without easing her symptoms. She said it was not until 1988 that she heard about the possible therapeutic benefits of cannabis. She claimed smoking three to five joints a day helped ease her pain and prevented further attacks by reducing stress, Former city mayor Colin Paisley, who has campaigned with Mrs Gibson on drug-related issues, said: "I am overjoyed that Lezley's 14-month ordeal is now finished."
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