Pubdate: Mon, 11 Apr 2005
Source: Reuters (Wire)
Copyright: 2005 Reuters Limited
Contact: London, UK
Website: http://www.reuters.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/364
Author: Lydia Bell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

POTHEAD GRANDMOTHER SPARED JAIL

LONDON (Reuters) - A 66-year-old British grandmother with a taste for 
marijuana casserole was spared jail Friday despite admitting she had shared 
cannabis-laced cookies with fellow pensioners.

Patricia Tabram from East Lea in the northern tip of England, who said she 
uses cannabis to alleviate pains in her neck and back, pleaded guilty to 
possession of the drug with intent to supply.

But Judge David Hodson said he would not make a "martyr" of her when she 
returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing. Instead, she received a 
six-month suspended prison sentence.

The white-haired, bespectacled granny was unrepentant, and said she would 
keep cooking with pot.

"I had it this morning in my scrambled eggs and I'll have it again for 
lunch. I'm not giving it up," she told Channel 4 news.

Tabram has become a symbol for Britain's legalize marijuana campaign. On 
her Web Site, www.grandma-eats-cannabis.com, she promises soon to provide 
free recipes, as well as tea towels and mugs for sale.

Last year, Britain downgraded cannabis from the same class as cocaine and 
ecstasy to a lower class of illegal drug, which means police are not 
expected to arrest people for possessing small amounts but can jail them 
for supplying it to others.

Police said they raided Tabram's home after a tip-off in May last year and 
found 31 cannabis plants along with hydroponic cultivation equipment. In a 
later raid they found 47 bags of "skunk," a particularly strong form of the 
drug.

The set-up at Tabram's home "bore all the hallmarks of any sophisticated 
drug dealer," police said in a statement.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager