|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Tory MP supports the medical use of cannabis
Nigel Morris The Independent
Saturday 24 Feb 2001 The Conservatives distanced themselves last night from a Shadow Cabinet member who called for a debate on decriminalising cannabis and backed its medicinal use. Tim Yeo, the party's agriculture spokesman, who has admitted trying cannabis as a student, stepped out of line in an interview with his local paper. He said his son, Jonathan, took the drug to combat the side-effects of chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Mr Yeo, the MP for Suffolk South, told the East Anglian Daily Times: "I think Jonathan's experience is perhaps the most significant here. There are quite strong grounds for thinking that for some medical conditions, cannabis can provide relief from pain and suffering. "I would like to see it possible for people suffering from MS to have access to cannabis. That's not to say it should be legalised. It's to say that it could be used by doctors for medicinal purposes under prescription." He further broke ranks with party policy by calling for a "proper debate" on whether the drug should be decriminalised. In a sideswipe at right-wingers such as Ann Widdecombe, the shadow Home Secretary, he also called for a "more liberal attitude on social issues". A Conservative spokesman said the party was opposed to cannabis legalisation under any circumstances, as it was a "gateway" drug that could lead on to use of other banned substances.
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!