Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jul 2002
Source: Scotland On Sunday (UK)
Copyright: 2002 The Scotsman Publications Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/405
Author: Murdo MacLeod
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

MS VICTIM FACES JAIL OVER CANNABIS

A WHEELCHAIR-using multiple sclerosis sufferer is facing a year in prison 
following allegations she baked cannabis-laced chocolates and sent them to 
fellow MS patients.

Biz Ivol, 54, whose condition has left her house-bound in her Orkney home, 
has been charged with supplying cannabis. If found guilty, she could face 
up to 12 months in jail.

Ivol's friends say she is extremely distressed by the police move, which 
has been condemned by politicians and cannabis campaigners.

Ivol's friend, Andrew Caldwell, said: "She's very perplexed, very upset, 
and very bemused at the thought of being prosecuted. She is very stressed. 
When I saw her she put on a very brave face but she is in turmoil at the 
prospect of appearing in court. That stress is itself not doing her any 
good, it is known that stress exacerbates the symptoms of MS.

"I find it disgusting to say the least that she's being persecuted like 
this. I am not normally lost for words, but I think it is itself criminal 
that people should be victimised in this way."

Hundreds of people with MS claim cannabis relieves their symptoms, which 
can include debilitating pain in the joints and muscles. Caldwell added: "I 
don' t want to buy cannabis from people who will take my money and later 
sell heroin to schoolchildren.

"I could drink a bottle of whisky, get drunk and then strike someone. I bet 
I wouldn't be treated as harshly as Biz Ivol. While the government is 
announcing study after study into whether cannabis should be used for MS, 
people are suffering terrible pain. Can they not show some humanity and 
understanding and allow the people for whom this seems to work to use it? 
They are hardly a danger to society."

The local procurator fiscal in Kirkwall would not comment on the matter.

Alistair Carmichael, the MP for Orkney and Shetland and a former procurator 
fiscal depute, has called for a change in the law to allow the use of 
cannabis for medicinal purposes. He said: "I'm not blaming the police or 
the procurator fiscal - the law is the law. But the law has to be changed 
to allow for medicinal use. When will the government act to legalise the 
medicinal use of cannabis and bring an end to the nonsense of prosecutions?"

A spokesman for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance condemned the decision to 
prosecute Ivol. He said: "I can hardly find the words to describe how 
disgusted I am at the way people are being treated. When will they stop 
harassing sick people who find this is their only release from the pain of 
MS? This is an appalling situation in a supposedly civilised society."

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is currently reviewing the UK's drugs 
laws and is expected to recommend this week that cannabis should be 
reclassified from a 'Class B' to a 'Class C' drug. The move would mean that 
cannabis users would no longer be arrested for possession of the drug, 
though supplying cannabis would remain a criminal offence.

Roger Howard, chief executive of DrugScope - which lobbies for cannabis to 
be permitted for medical reasons - said: "DrugScope has long argued that 
the merits of the medicinal use of cannabis need to be assessed and we're 
glad that the government is now finally doing so. Sadly it seems this move 
may come too late for some people who have ended up on the wrong side of a 
punitive law."

Ivol is due to appear in Kirkwall Sheriff Court on July 16 for a summary 
pleading - a hearing in advance of a possible trial - on one count of 
concern to supply cannabis, one charge of possession, and a charge of 
cultivating the drug.
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