Subj: UK: Sco: Fiscal abandons prosecution of cannabis grower



Date: 20 Feb, 2000



Source: Scotland on Sunday







Fiscal abandons prosecution of cannabis grower



I'll carry on smoking, says man who is told criminal case is

'not in the public interest'

By Peter Laing



A FISCAL has dropped legal proceedings against a disabled

man who uses cannabis for pain relief, saying that

continuing with the case would not be in the public

interest.



Neil Winters, who lost the use of his legs in a motorbike

accident, was told by letter the case had been dropped and

he was free to collect from police the lights he uses for

growing cannabis plants.



Winters, from Shetland, said he would carry on growing

cannabis. The 33-year-old, who has two previous convictions

for cultivating the class B drug, was facing a jail sentence

of up to six months if the case at Lerwick Sheriff Court had

gone ahead.



The decision not to prosecute Winters was welcomed last

night by campaigners for the medical use of cannabis.



A recent Scotland on Sunday survey revealed that support is

growing among the public for legalisation, with 43% of

adults favouring a change in the law.



Winters appeared in court last November and pleaded not

guilty to a charge of cultivating cannabis at his home in

remote Eshaness.



Roderick Urquhart, the procurator fiscal in Shetland,

confirmed that the case had been dropped. He said: "Mr

Winters has a number of medical problems. He is not going to

be fit to stand trial for six months and possibly longer.

Having this hanging over him could be detrimental to his

recovery. I have to balance the public interest in applying

the requirements of the Misuse of Drugs Act against his

interests in getting his health back.



"There is a compelling argument for saying there should be a

presumption against prosecution unless there are good

reasons in the public interest."



Urquhart denied his decision had been influenced by the

cannabis debate, or that it should be taken as a statement

of policy. But Winters said: "In my opinion, the legal

system doesn't have the stomach for going through with cases

like this. The last time I was busted, the sheriff said if I

appeared again I would go to jail. I don't think anyone

wanted to see me jailed for six months.



"I hope what has happened in my case encourages people to

carry on with the campaign to have cannabis available for

medical use."



Winters described as a "nonsense" the fact he pays a drug

dealer around UKP120 a week to supply cannabis when he could

grow it for himself for a few pounds. "I keep getting busted

by the police and they take the lights and plants away and

so I can't grow cannabis. That means I have to buy it, which

clears me out of money and leaves me in abject poverty.



"I plead not guilty to the charge because I planned to argue

medical necessity."



Winters was seriously injured in a motorbike accident in

Glasgow's Great Western Road in 1987. A spinal injury

confined him to a wheelchair.



He decided to move to one of the remotest parts of Shetland,

where he lives alone, helped by social workers and his

nearest neighbour, who lives seven miles away.



He says some locals keep complaining to police that he is a

drug dealer. "The police tell me they don't want to have to

keep busting me but they can't ignore the complaints," said

Winters.



He added: "The letter from the fiscal said I could go to the

police station and get my lights. As soon as I can, I will

get them back and start growing cannabis again. It does not

matter if I get busted again. I can't afford to do without

it.



"I have a lot of pain and tremors from my condition. The

cannabis is the only thing that helps the tremors. It also

helps me relax, helps digestion, appetite and avoid getting

depressed. I should be getting the stuff on prescription."



Hamish Crisp, an MS sufferer from Edinburgh who uses

cannabis for his medical condition and campaigns for its

legalisation, welcomed the decision of the Shetland fiscal.



Crisp, from Edinburgh, said: "This is another case of common

sense prevailing. How can Neil Winters be a danger to the

public? There is no victim and no crime."



The campaign to legalise cannabis for medical use has

attracted wide support including Phil Gallie, the Tory

spokesman on law and order, and Scotland Against Drugs.



The British Medical Association, mindful of the harmful

effects of smoking, has called for research to identify the

relevant active ingredients of cannabis to create a new

drug.