AGEING HIPPIES' CANNABIS RING

- -- A COUPLE of ageing hippies have escaped jail sentences for their
part in a cannabis co-operative run by women in a South Yorkshire
village who smoke 'joints' to ease their painful joints.

Jacqueline Bell and Valerie Owen were among a circle of six friends
aged from 42 to 70 living in Highfields, Doncaster, who clubbed
together to buy the drug because of their various medical conditions.

And today they vowed to carry on smoking dope even though they risk
going to prison for ignoring a sentence imposed by a judge at
Doncaster Crown Court.

Recorder Peter Kelson QC said he realised they would carry using
cannabis because they had strong feelings about it and told them: "If
you want to stand on your principles you can take your prison
sentence - it's your choice."

Bell, aged 53, was given three months for possession with intent to
supply and Owen, 46, received one month for possession, both
suspended for 51 weeks. They will also be tagged to stay at home
under curfew every night for the next six months.

The court was told how drugs squad officers found two blocks of
cannabis weighing 716 grams in a wardrobe and 11 other pieces in
various parts of the terraced house in South Street.

The street value of the drugs was more than UKP3,000 and Bell told
officers that half a dozen women in the village would take it in
turns to buy in bulk to take for medicinal reasons.

Speaking at the house where their hippie-style Volkswagen camper van,
named Passing Wind, is parked outside, Bell told The Star: "We're not
going to stop smoking.

"I've been crippled with arthritis for 13 years and Val also has
arthritis and other health problems. "Cannabis makes such a
difference. We have a couple of joints at night and that helps us
both sleep. We're both in severe pain and if we didn't we would never
have any sleep."

Bell added: "I was born in and brought up in the hippie era when most
people smoked cannabis. We're known in the village as the hippie drug
dealers and we've never kept it secret."

But the women are adamant they only sell the cannabis to their circle
and would not consider dealing with young people or anybody else..

"It was just the six of us although one recently moved away. Another
lady has just been diagnosed with a condition and has been given 10
years to live so why shouldn't she enjoy a joint? We all save up each
week and it was unfortunately my turn to buy it when the police came.

"I don't normally have that amount. We're just a couple of geriatric
hippies who smoke pot because we need to for medical reasons."

Bell said she did needlework and sold items at car boot sales to
raise her share of the drugs kitty money.