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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Orkney MS woman in cannabis court battle
Shirley English The Times
Thursday 19 Jun 2003 A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND Orkney housewife appeared in court yesterday to fight charges of growing and handling cannabis which she claims alleviates pain caused by her crippling multiple sclerosis. Elizabeth Ivol, 55, of South Ronaldsay, is believed to be the first person in Britain to be prosecuted for openly using cannabis for medicinal purposes and allegedly supplying it to others for pain relief in the form of homemade drug-laced chocolates. The case is being watched closely by pro-cannabis campaigners and those who believe the Government should take account of mounting evidence of the Class C drug's reported pain-relieving benefits and legalise it for medicinal purposes. It has already come to the attention of Tony Blair who, when answering a question in the Commons last year on Mrs Ivol's predicament, said that he understood there was a potential distinction between those who needed cannabis for medicinal purposes and those using it recreationally. Mrs Ivol, who is known locally as Biz, has threatened to commit suicide at the end of her trial, claiming her life will not be worth living without the pain relief cannabis affords her. She has already ordered a coffin and has said she aims to use her court appearance to argue for legalisation. Doctors diagnosed MS in 1990 and she began using cannabis to tackle the debilitating symptoms of the disease, which attacks the muscles and joints, about six years ago. In August 2001 her home was raided by police who found tobacco, rolled cigarettes and recorded delivery slips. A letter written by someone requesting a supply of her "special Belgian chocolates" was also discovered. PC Michael Don, of Northern Constabulary, who obtained the search warrant, told Kirkwall Sheriff Court yesterday that when he interviewed Mrs Ivol, she told him: "I send out information packs first and they usually contact me again if they want to try out the chocolate. I then send out a package of chocolates with nothing indicating where it has come from." Mrs Ivol denies three charges of possession of cannabis, of supplying cannabis and of cultivating cannabis. Yesterday the court, sitting at Pickaquoy Leisure Centre because it has better disabled access than the normal court building, was told by a witness that Mrs Ivol posted him cannabis-laced chocolates to help his wife, Eileen, who has MS. John Murray, of Dalgety Bay, Fife, contacted Mrs Ivol after learning through a newspaper article that she had developed a technique for blending cannabis with chocolate. He told the court he had thought about obtaining cannabis for some time to help his wife but lacked contacts. He contacted Mrs Ivol who sent him several cannabis chocolates in the post. He said that his wife had been losing the use of her legs and on a good day was only able to walk a couple of hundred yards. "She has become quite dependent on my presence. She has had considerable pain which you cannot predict," he said. Mr Murray's home was visited by police, who removed all the chocolates before he had a chance to give any to his wife. The trial, before Sheriff Colin Scott Mackenzie, continues.
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