News (Media Awareness Project) - UK: Web: MS Victim's New Drug Charge Is Dropped |
| Title: | UK: Web: MS Victim's New Drug Charge Is Dropped |
| Published On: | 2001-03-27 |
| Source: | Manchester Evening News (UK) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-26 20:14:28 |
MS VICTIM'S NEW DRUG CHARGE IS DROPPED
MULTIPLE Sclerosis sufferer and cannabis campaigner Paul Roddy is
celebrating another victory after a charge of illegally possessing the drug
was dropped.
Last Thursday Mr Roddy, 41, from Wythenshawe, was cleared by a jury at
Manchester Crown Court of having ?15 worth of the drug, which he uses for
pain relief, but was re-arrested for an identical offence as he left the dock.
Now the Crown Prosecution Service has decided it is not in the public
interest to proceed with the case.
Today, a delighted Mr Roddy said: ''I'm stunned by the decision to drop the
charges because I wasn't expecting it.
''Although this doesn't mean a change in the law on possessing cannabis I'm
very encouraged. I want to be able to take cannabis without looking over my
shoulder. I want to be told that that particular worry is all over. I feel
great and that's how I want to stay.''
The warrant related to Mr Roddy's failure to answer his bail last July
after being charged with possessing cannabis valued at just ?5.
His solicitor Susan Cairns said she was delighted with the decision and
hoped Mr Roddy's case and others like it will provoke the government into
clarifying the law.
The decision comes just days after a House of Lords report recommended
legalising the use of cannabis-based drugs for medical reasons.
The Lords Science Committee has said people who use cannabis to ease the
symptoms of conditions such as cancer and Multiple Sclerosis should not be
prosecuted.
A judge also criticised the police for keeping Mr Roddy, of Biddeford
Court, Baguley, in custody overnight at Longsight police station after he
had been on bail during his trial.
Cannabis campaigners, in court to support Mr Roddy, who admits having
cannabis with him at all the times, had labelled the police action as barbaric.
Founder of the Medical Marijuana Co-operative, Colin Davies, 44, who last
year handed a posy of marijuana to the Queen as she opened The Lowry centre
in Salford, said: ''The decision to drop the charge is great news.''
MULTIPLE Sclerosis sufferer and cannabis campaigner Paul Roddy is
celebrating another victory after a charge of illegally possessing the drug
was dropped.
Last Thursday Mr Roddy, 41, from Wythenshawe, was cleared by a jury at
Manchester Crown Court of having ?15 worth of the drug, which he uses for
pain relief, but was re-arrested for an identical offence as he left the dock.
Now the Crown Prosecution Service has decided it is not in the public
interest to proceed with the case.
Today, a delighted Mr Roddy said: ''I'm stunned by the decision to drop the
charges because I wasn't expecting it.
''Although this doesn't mean a change in the law on possessing cannabis I'm
very encouraged. I want to be able to take cannabis without looking over my
shoulder. I want to be told that that particular worry is all over. I feel
great and that's how I want to stay.''
The warrant related to Mr Roddy's failure to answer his bail last July
after being charged with possessing cannabis valued at just ?5.
His solicitor Susan Cairns said she was delighted with the decision and
hoped Mr Roddy's case and others like it will provoke the government into
clarifying the law.
The decision comes just days after a House of Lords report recommended
legalising the use of cannabis-based drugs for medical reasons.
The Lords Science Committee has said people who use cannabis to ease the
symptoms of conditions such as cancer and Multiple Sclerosis should not be
prosecuted.
A judge also criticised the police for keeping Mr Roddy, of Biddeford
Court, Baguley, in custody overnight at Longsight police station after he
had been on bail during his trial.
Cannabis campaigners, in court to support Mr Roddy, who admits having
cannabis with him at all the times, had labelled the police action as barbaric.
Founder of the Medical Marijuana Co-operative, Colin Davies, 44, who last
year handed a posy of marijuana to the Queen as she opened The Lowry centre
in Salford, said: ''The decision to drop the charge is great news.''
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