THIS DRUG DOESN'T HURT ANYONE, BUT THE LAW DOES

MARK Gibson, who is standing for Penrith and the Border in the next
General Election, claims that "ordinary people" are being turned into
criminals because of the laws on cannabis.

Mr Gibson is the husband of Lezley Gibson, the multiple sclerosis
sufferer who made national news when she was cleared of possession of
cannabis last month after a jury at Carlisle Crown Court heard she
used the drug for medical reasons.

Last week Mr Gibson announced that he would stand for the Legalise
Cannabis Alliance against one of Cumbria's longest serving MPs,
Conservative David Maclean.

He says many otherwise law abiding people are living under the shadow
of a criminal record which goes along with a cannabis conviction, and
in some cases it has ruined their lives.

He also claims that freelance TV cameraman Barrie Leather, who hanged
himself last year, took his life because he was depressed after being
sacked by Border TV following a conviction for possession of cannabis.
"I think the law of the land is at fault. It is an unjust law which
took my friend's life," said Mr Gibson, who was a pallbearer at Mr
Leather's funeral.

Mr Leather's inquest heard evidence that he had suffered depression
and talked of suicide in the years before losing his job.

"Barrie did suffer from depression before, but this was the trigger,"
said Mr Gibson.

"He lost everything in the space of six months. He went from driving a
$24,000 car to getting around on a mountain bike. He lost his home and
moved into a bedsit. He just felt bereft."

Nigel Moore, a self-employed book distributor from Carlisle, was a
close friend of Mr Leather.

He said: "Barrie lost everything. His job was all, and after he lost
it he did not want to move away for work. His dad was quite ill in
hospital and he did not want to leave his dad."

Barrie's father Rod has since died. Mr Moore added: "It's not as if
Barrie had been standing outside a school selling heroin to children.
He was a recreational smoker in the privacy of his own home.

"Cannabis doesn't harm anyone, but the law does. His family lost a
brother and only son and I lost a friend of 20 years."

Border TV director of programmes Neil Robinson said: "The company's
policy is that we do not take misuse of alcohol or drugs lightly. We
ask people to seek treatment for any drink or drugs problem. We look
at every case on its merits."

Mr Gibson says he has suffered the effects of a criminal record dating
back 14 years because he smokes cannabis.

He says he was fined in his early 20s for possession of cannabis after
police searched a record store he then ran in Carlisle's Lanes, called
Penny Lane Records.

In 1989, he and Lezley were in a car in Carlisle when police stopped
them and found $6,000 worth of cannabis.

"A passenger in the car had the cannabis which I was unaware of," he
said. He added that in court he pleaded guilty to using cannabis and
received a two-year conditional discharge.

A police raid at the Gibsons Alston home in 1995 led to Mark admitting
further charges of possession and being fined.

"I smoke cannabis recreationally. I have never said I would stop. I am
not going to deny it," he said.

The effects have been long running.

After Mark and Lezley married in 1990, they were burgled and their
wedding presents were stolen.

He said: "We lost the TV and Hi-fi, ornaments, presents and keepsakes.
When we put in a claim on the insurance it was denied because we both
had criminal records, which hurts a lot.

"Lezley has no other convictions. She didn't even get detention at
school," he said. "I have a motoring offence for speeding five years
ago. We are not a pair of criminals. We are victims of the country's
laws."

Neil Crossland, 26, a painter and decorator from Alston, says one
cannabis conviction has prevented him from seeing his uncle in Canada
for the rest of his life.

Six years ago plain-clothes police officers entered his girlfriend's
house. "I told them where the cannabis was in a pair of jeans next to
the bed, and I had a tiny bit on me, worth about $25," he said.

"There were also two tiny plants the police said were worth
$100.

"They searched the house and trashed it, even checking behind the
posters on the walls."

Mr Crossland was fined $225.

He said: "I have always wanted to go to Canada to see my uncle but now
I will never be allowed because they won't let people in with criminal
records."