BAILED, THEN DRUG MAN DEFIES THE LAW

A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer smoked cannabis as he left court where he
faces a second charge of possessing the drug.

Paul Roddy, who says he takes the drug to help his condition, had been
acquitted a day earlier at Manchester Crown Court.

But he was immediately re-arrested in the dock and held overnight at a
police station. There were cheers at Manchester magistrates court when
district judge Alan Berg granted Mr Roddy bail.

Inhaling the drug deeply on the steps of the court, Mr Roddy, from
Wythenshawe, said: ''I've been treated worse than a dog when all I
wanted to do was take some cannabis because it takes away the pain and
makes my life bearable.

''When I was found not guilty the last thing I expected was to be
arrested again and thrown in a cell for the night. It was my worst
nightmare and all I could think about was how I was going to get
cannabis to help me to survive. I thought I was going to crack up.''

Mr Roddy, who admits having cannabis with him all the time, was arrested
by police before he left the dock at Crown Court.

He was kept overnight at Longsight police station accused of possessing
a small amount of cannabis in July last year.

Home Secretary Jack Straw was branded "cruel" today over the case of Mr
Roddy.

Euro MP Chris Davies said Mr Straw would have to be replaced before the
government agreed that multiple sclerosis sufferers were allowed to use
cannabis to relieve their pain.

"Time after time juries refuse to convict people in the same position as
Paul Roddy, yet still the Home Secretary refuses to see sense", said Mr
Davies, former MP for Littleborough and Saddleworth.

"Jack Straw's refusal to act on the medical evidence already available
to him is nothing less than an act of cruelty", said Mr Davies. The
House of 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.