PETITION
AIMS TO HALT CANNABIS COURT CASE
Source:
News & Star, Carlisle
Pub
date: Thursday, August 25, 2005
Ref: http://www.ethical-business.com/default.asp?sect=detail&pet=2001
Lezley Gibson http://www.ccguide.org/lezleygibson.php
Web: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=275901
A
CAMPAIGN has been launched to stop the prosecution of a Cumbrian couple who are
charged with plotting to supply cannabis.
More than
700 people have signed a petition on an internet site which is calling for
charges against Mark and Lezley Jane Gibson, both 41, of Front Street, Alston
to be dropped.
The
couple, who stood for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance party at the general
election, have appeared at Carlisle Crown Court on a charge each of conspiring
to supply the drug.
It is
alleged they did this between January 2000 and February 2005.
The Gibsons,
who run a shop in Alston, are co-accused with Marcus Peter Davies, 36, of The
Grove, Warboys Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
The
petition calls for the Crown Prosecution Service in Cumbria to drop the case
against all three defendants.
It has
been published on a UK-based website called Petition-them.com, which says it is
aimed at “individuals and groups who wish to promote a cause or campaign”.
Mark
Gibson stood as a candidate for Penrith and the Border in the May election as
well as in 2001, while his wife stood in the Carlisle constituency this year.
Lezley
Gibson came to national attention in 2000 when she was cleared at Carlisle
Crown Court of possessing cannabis.
The jury
made its decision after hearing how she used the drug to ease her symptoms of
multiple sclerosis (MS).
In 2003,
Mark Gibson shelved plans to open a Dutch-style cannabis cafe in Cumbria.
None of
the defendants were asked to enter a plea at their latest court hearing last
Friday.
All three were allowed bail until
their next appearance at the crown court on October 13.