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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Web: MS Victim's New Drug Charge Is Dropped
ccguide Wednesday 28 Mar 2001 Pubdate: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 Source: Manchester Evening News (UK) Copyright: 2001 Manchester Evening News Contact: Address: 164 Deansgate, Manchester M60 2RD, England Fax: 0161 839 0968 Website: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk MS VICTIM'S NEW DRUG CHARGE IS DROPPED MULTIPLE Sclerosis sufferer and cannabis campaigner Paul Roddy is celebrating another victory after a charge of illegally possessing the drug was dropped. Last Thursday Mr Roddy, 41, from Wythenshawe, was cleared by a jury at Manchester Crown Court of having ?15 worth of the drug, which he uses for pain relief, but was re-arrested for an identical offence as he left the dock. Now the Crown Prosecution Service has decided it is not in the public interest to proceed with the case. Today, a delighted Mr Roddy said: ''I'm stunned by the decision to drop the charges because I wasn't expecting it. ''Although this doesn't mean a change in the law on possessing cannabis I'm very encouraged. I want to be able to take cannabis without looking over my shoulder. I want to be told that that particular worry is all over. I feel great and that's how I want to stay.'' The warrant related to Mr Roddy's failure to answer his bail last July after being charged with possessing cannabis valued at just ?5. His solicitor Susan Cairns said she was delighted with the decision and hoped Mr Roddy's case and others like it will provoke the government into clarifying the law. The decision comes just days after a House of Lords report recommended legalising the use of cannabis-based drugs for medical reasons. The Lords Science Committee has said people who use cannabis to ease the symptoms of conditions such as cancer and Multiple Sclerosis should not be prosecuted. A judge also criticised the police for keeping Mr Roddy, of Biddeford Court, Baguley, in custody overnight at Longsight police station after he had been on bail during his trial. Cannabis campaigners, in court to support Mr Roddy, who admits having cannabis with him at all the times, had labelled the police action as barbaric. Founder of the Medical Marijuana Co-operative, Colin Davies, 44, who last year handed a posy of marijuana to the Queen as she opened The Lowry centre in Salford, said: ''The decision to drop the charge is great news.'' - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart
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