FISCAL ABANDONS PROSECUTION OF CANNABIS GROWER

I'll carry on smoking, says man who is told criminal case is 'not in the
public interest'

A FISCAL has dropped legal proceedings against a disabled man who uses
cannabis for pain relief, saying that continuing with the case would not be
in the public interest.

Neil Winters, who lost the use of his legs in a motorbike accident, was told
by letter the case had been dropped and he was free to collect from police
the lights he uses for growing cannabis plants.

Winters, from Shetland, said he would carry on growing cannabis. The
33-year-old, who has two previous convictions for cultivating the class B
drug, was facing a jail sentence of up to six months if the case at Lerwick
Sheriff Court had gone ahead.

The decision not to prosecute Winters was welcomed last night by campaigners
for the medical use of cannabis.

A recent Scotland on Sunday survey revealed that support is growing among
the public for legalisation, with 43% of adults favouring a change in the
law.

Winters appeared in court last November and pleaded not guilty to a charge
of cultivating cannabis at his home in remote Eshaness.

Roderick Urquhart, the procurator fiscal in Shetland, confirmed that the
case had been dropped. He said: "Mr Winters has a number of medical
problems. He is not going to be fit to stand trial for six months and
possibly longer. Having this hanging over him could be detrimental to his
recovery. I have to balance the public interest in applying the requirements
of the Misuse of Drugs Act against his interests in getting his health back.

"There is a compelling argument for saying there should be a presumption
against prosecution unless there are good reasons in the public interest."

Urquhart denied his decision had been influenced by the cannabis debate, or
that it should be taken as a statement of policy. But Winters said: "In my
opinion, the legal system doesn't have the stomach for going through with
cases like this. The last time I was busted, the sheriff said if I appeared
again I would go to jail. I don't think anyone wanted to see me jailed for
six months.

"I hope what has happened in my case encourages people to carry on with the
campaign to have cannabis available for medical use."

Winters described as a "nonsense" the fact he pays a drug dealer around
UKP120 a week to supply cannabis when he could grow it for himself for a few
pounds. "I keep getting busted by the police and they take the lights and
plants away and so I can't grow cannabis. That means I have to buy it, which
clears me out of money and leaves me in abject poverty.

"I plead not guilty to the charge because I planned to argue medical
necessity."

Winters was seriously injured in a motorbike accident in Glasgow's Great
Western Road in 1987. A spinal injury confined him to a wheelchair.

He decided to move to one of the remotest parts of Shetland, where he lives
alone, helped by social workers and his nearest neighbour, who lives seven
miles away.

He says some locals keep complaining to police that he is a drug dealer.
"The police tell me they don't want to have to keep busting me but they
can't ignore the complaints," said Winters.

He added: "The letter from the fiscal said I could go to the police station
and get my lights. As soon as I can, I will get them back and start growing
cannabis again. It does not matter if I get busted again. I can't afford to
do without it.

"I have a lot of pain and tremors from my condition. The cannabis is the
only thing that helps the tremors. It also helps me relax, helps digestion,
appetite and avoid getting depressed. I should be getting the stuff on
prescription."

Hamish Crisp, an MS sufferer from Edinburgh who uses cannabis for his
medical condition and campaigns for its legalisation, welcomed the decision
of the Shetland fiscal.

Crisp, from Edinburgh, said: "This is another case of common sense
prevailing. How can Neil Winters be a danger to the public? There is no
victim and no crime."

The campaign to legalise cannabis for medical use has attracted wide support
including Phil Gallie, the Tory spokesman on law and order, and Scotland
Against Drugs.

The British Medical Association, mindful of the harmful effects of smoking,
has called for research to identify the relevant active ingredients of
cannabis to create a new drug.