Source: The Scotsman Contact: Pubdate: 3 Dec 1997 COURT FREES MS VICTIM FOR GROWING CANNABIS By David Hartley A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer escaped a jail sentence yesterday after she struggled into court to face sentencing for growing cannabis the only drug that relieves the severe pain she suffers. The sheriff's decision, coming in the wake of calls from the British Medical Association for "compassion and understanding" when sick people use cannabis, was criticised by the Governmentbacked Scotland Against Drugs last night. Elizabeth Ivol, 50, had to use two walking sticks to climb the flight of stairs leading to Kirkwall Sheriff Court in Orkney. After warning Mrs Ivol that she could face six months in jail, Sheriff Colin Scott Mackenzie admonished her on two charges growing 27 cannabis plants and possessing the illegal drug. David Macauley, of Scotland Against Drugs, said later: "The message that cannabis is somehow good for you could follow from this ; and it wouldn't be MS sufferers who used it, it would be other people who used it as an excuse. You can't shortcircuit the law." But Phil Galley, the former Conservative MP for Ayr, and a member of the Scottish select committee looking at drugs abuse, said the case backed up calls by the BMA for the legal prescription of the drug in some medical cases. "The sheriff was right to be lenient and I think we need to clear this up, ideally fairly quickly, even by legislating for it. It just needs an amendment to the prescribed list that doctors are allowed to use. "My sympathy in this one is with the BMA. Providing the drug is prescribed for medical reasons, I have no difficulty at all with that. But it should only be prescribed by medics. In this particular case, irrespective of what the BMA or anybody else may have said, the sheriff has demonstrated a degree of wisdom." Mrs Ivol, of Herston, South Ronaldsay, had admitted the offences on an earlier occasion. Her defence agent, Graham Sutherland, said she appreciated the seriousness of the offences and had made an enormous physical effort to go to court to face sentence. She suffered a range of symptoms and was severely disabled by MS. "There was no criminal intent behind her cultivating cannabis plants, they were not intended for anyone else," Mr Sutherland told the court. "My client intended to use the drug privately and discreetly. This was an experiment. She had never grown cannabis plants before." The solicitor went on: "Desperate circumstances often result in desperate measures being taken. "Unfortunately for my client, she is not aware of any drugs available on prescription which provide the degree of relief which she obtains from her homegrown cannabis." Mrs Ivol's consultant neuropsychologist had confirmed that no legallyavailable drug could offer the same relief for her symptoms as cannabis, Mr Sutherland told the court. He added: "My client was not using cannabis for pleasure. She was attempting to relieve the awful physical symptoms she suffers and to achieve a degree of self respect, something which most people take for granted." The procuratorfiscal, Colin McClory, had earlier told the court that the offences had come to light after police had heard that workers carrying out community service had found a large number of cannabis plants at a house in South Ronaldsay. "They had helped themselves to a number of leaves, taken them back to Kirkwall, used them themselves and shared them out with others," he said. Tests had shown that the 27 plants would have produced 86.7 grams of dried cannabis with a black market value of £430, he added. Sheriff Mackenzie told Mrs Ivol, who looked weary and solemn in the dock, that cultivating cannabis could result in a sixmonth prison sentence, a £5,000 fine, or both. "In administering the law, the High Court has frequently said that offenders will be severely dealt with," he said. Even when offenders claimed a medical purpose, they were often given lengthy prison sentences. "Those who defy the express will of parliament have only themselves to blame if they end up behind bars," the sheriff said. "I have little doubt but that cannabis might have a beneficial pharmaceutical effect in certain circumstances. "That is not to say that it is the only drug which can provide a beneficial effect. However, that is possibly something which interested people should put to members of parliament." He added that he had "considerable sympathy for the circumstances in which Mrs Ivol finds herself". Outside the court, Mrs Ivol said she was enormously relieved to have been admonished. "I felt like a criminal all the time I was in there," she said as she sat on the steps of the court. "But I don't now I'm outside in the fresh air again." Mrs Ivol who calls herself Biz said she had to cope with unimaginable pain before she discovered relief through smoking homegrown cannabis. "It felt like a strand of barbed wire being dragged through my spine up to the top of my head," she said. She was diagnosed as having MS seven years ago, but only started using cannabis four months ago. "Painkillers just weren't working any more," she said. "I knew I was breaking the law, but it was a risk I had to take because there was nothing else left for me. "I'd seriously wondered about whether I could carry on living. Then, when I started smoking a joint every five days, I'd find all the pain had gone within about an hour. I suddenly found I could feel my toes for the first time in three years. "It's also given me a bit of independence. I can look after myself and my dogs, but without the cannabis they'd probably have to put me in a home."