Gran's Cakes Go Up In Smoke!

Now I'm not in favour of drug abuse or misuse. I think the penalties for peddling demonstrably mind-damaging and body-ruining substances should be of the harshest. It is a mean spirited and thoroughly unpleasant trade that preys on the vulnerable.

However, there are situations where pain can be relieved through the careful use of drugs, be they concocted in a laboratory or grown naturally as nature intended. A grandmother who campaigned for the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has just been convicted of possessing and growing the drug. Now some may say never ever, whatever the circumstances. But for pain relief, used under medical supervision, would cannabis be so awful? The grandmother in question, Patricia Tabram, aged 68, denied the charges brought against her. She now faces a possible jail sentence.

For those suffering severe pain, relief from any quarter can be better than the relentless throbbing and aching. I feel the use of cannabis is something the medical profession should look into rather than relying so much on pills that can cause stomach ulcers and long term problems.

But there is another aspect to this story. Following the conviction, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: "Patricia Tabram has consistently flouted the law and Northumbria Police has a duty to act on the information we receive concerning possessing and cultivating drugs in order to enforce this law. We take drug abuse very seriously and are keen to use all tools at our disposal to eliminate drug dealing and use in the community." The casual use of the words "drug abuse" and "drug dealing" seem to suggest that the police put this grandmother up with the hardened criminals. I think the police have a duty to be less perjorative and more authoritative in their statements.

Posted in: