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UK: 'Cannabis martyr' told police he was 'saving the city' after they found his grow Adam Everett Liverpool Echo Thursday 02 Feb 2023 A "cannabis martyr" told police that he was "saving the city by producing the fruits of the earth for the people" when they discovered his grow. Gary Youds, a well-known campaigner for the legalisation of the class B drug and the former owner of a "cannabis café", had been supplying cannabis oil to a dying man free of charge in order to ease the pain of his terminal cancer. However, a judge at Liverpool Crown Court today, Thursday, found that he had also been producing and selling "purple haze" for profit. The court heard this afternoon, Thursday, that the 53-year-old was stopped by officers at Lime Street Station shortly before 8.45am on October 24 2020. On this occasion, Youds was found in possession of 40 1ml plastic syringes of cannabis oil, two spliffs, a tobacco pouch containing around 6g of cannabis resin and £100 in cash. A search of his home on Cavan Road in Norris Green then revealed a large container of empty syringes - three of which were filled with cannabis oil - a box containing 12.8g of flowering heads, a bag of cannabis and a bag of cannabis resin as well as a set of scales with cannabis residue on them. Frances Willmott, prosecuting, said that the same house was then raided again at around 6pm on February 19 last year. There, police found a grow of six "very large and well-maintained" cannabis plants which were up to 6ft tall and 3ft wide. They were described as "some of the largest plants the officers had ever seen" and were believed to be producing the purple haze strain of the drug. A quantity of cannabis with a street value of up to £7,000 was also seized. Under interview after his arrest, Youds said he was "growing the fruits of the earth for medicinal purposes" and was "saving the city by producing the fruits of the earth for the people". He has numerous previous convictions for cannabis-related offences dating back to 2005 and previously ran the Chillin' Rooms on Holt Road in Kensington, a former taxi office which was converted into a "private members' club" for cannabis users. The defendant was called to give evidence to the court during a trial of issue, a hearing in which a charge is admitted but the basis on which a judge is to sentence is disputed. From this witness box, Youds said that at the time of his arrest at the train station he had been en route to deliver cannabis oil to a man called Alan Tisdale who lived in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham. He had previously met his son at a "medicinal cannabis awareness event" in Brighton in 2018, and was contacted in 2020 as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Youds said he was providing the oil to ease Mr Tisdale's pain, he had not been paid to provide the substance and had not allowed the family to pay for expenses such as his train ticket. He also stated that the yield from the cannabis farm discovered last year would also have been used to produce oil, while he himself has suffered from arthritis in his spine since the age of 30 and uses cannabis to "relieve his pain" and allow him to "have a better sleep". Mr Tisdale later died as a result of a stroke in February 2021. His son James also gave evidence via video link, saying: "He was very empathetic and sympathetic of the situation we were in. "He helped us, he genuinely helped us - more than most people. He would not allow us to have any kind of financial transaction - he wouldn't charge us, he wouldn't even let us pay for his train ticket." James Tisdale's wife Joanna Drinkwater added: "I believe he is known as a cannabis martyr and his oil is well known as one of the best in the UK. He had helped many people. "There was no exchange of money or anything. Gary just wanted to help us and we are eternally grateful for that help." Anna Chestnutt, defending, told the court: "This cannabis oil had a monumental impact on Mr Alan Tisdale. Somewhat philanthropic, it was provided free of charge. "Mr Youds is no stranger to a custodial environment, but last time he was in prison he was entirely terrified for his life. He found it particularly intimidating." Youds pleaded guilty to production of cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possession of cannabis during an earlier hearing. He was jailed for three years after Judge David Swinnerton found that he had "commercially benefitting" from his farm. Sentencing, the judge said: "You are plainly someone who genuinely thinks that cannabis should be legalised and it has beneficial effects for people. There are ways you can campaign to change the law which are lawful, but you have quite deliberately chosen to flout the law time after time after time. "You have been described as a cannabis martyr. It is not a normal case of someone out on the streets selling £10 bags. "I accept that part of why you did it was not just greed or a desire for money, but a genuine belief in the ability of cannabis to assist. Mr Youds, if you fervently believe that cannabis ought to be legalised can I urge you to campaign in ways which are legal because you are wasting your life going to prison. "You are just going to end up going back to prison. It is not helping anybody." https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/cannabis-martyr-told-police-saving-26143739
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