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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: MS sufferer facing new drugs charges Claire Tolley The Daily Post (Liverpool) Saturday 16 Mar 2002 A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer who was fined £25 for cannabis possession after a trial costing £10,000 could be heading back to crown court. Robert Gartside has been told to present himself at a Merseyside police station after a warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of a second offence of drug possession. But Mr Gartside, who turned 34 yesterday, pledged to take the case to Liverpool Crown Court again when he is charged. He said: "It is an absolute farce. I would go through it all again and this time I would expect a result. "In some ways it gives me another chance to have my say and try and expose how ridiculous these laws are. "This helps me control the effects of the disease." A police spokeswoman said a 34-year-old man from Aigburth had failed to answer police bail in connection with drugs offences and a warrant was issued for his arrest which is still outstanding. The charge is separate to his conviction last month for cannabis possession by a Liverpool Crown Court jury when he was fined a nominal £25. Mr Gartside, from Aigburth Road, is again vowing to exercise his right to jury trial to highlight his political beliefs concerning cannabis - meaning thousands of pounds would be spent on the prosecution. The prospect of Mr Gartside fighting the case at crown court comes as it was revealed the Home Secretary could make possession of small amounts of cannabis a non-arrestable offence as early as April. And campaigners for a new policy on the drug have rounded on the action being taken against the MS sufferer. Jack Girling, from the Campaign to Legalise Cannabis International Association, said: "It's a complete waste of taxpayers' money." Chris Davies, MEP for the North West, said police resources could be better spent elsewhere. He added: "At the Liberal Democrat conference last week, I said the prosecution of cannabis users who are ill with medical conditions isn't wrong, it's downright cruel. "The Home Office figures published just three weeks ago show that 99pc of drugrelated crime affecting the community stems from heroin and crack cocaine addiction and yet 70pc of police time deals with cannabis. "I think the people of Merseyside all want to know why it's appropriate to prosecute an ill man instead of using valuable resources and police time to go and catch drunken thugs, violent criminals and muggers." Mr Davies said he was incredulous at the news on the day a report by the Government's medical advisers showed that alcohol and tobacco have a more harmful effect on people's health than cannabis use. The official report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (AMCD) paves the way for the reclassification of cannabis from a class B to class C drug. AMCD chairman Michael Rawlinson said that the recommendation to reclassify did not mean cannabis was harmless but that the relatively small health risks were far less than those posed by other class B drugs.
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