CANNABIS SUPPLIER IS CLEARED

THE GOVERNMENT last night faced new calls to legalisecannabis for
medical use after a man who set up a co-operative to supply the drug
was cleared by a jury in the first case of its kind.

Colin Davies, 42, who started growing cannabis in his flat after
suffering severe spinal injuries in a fall, was acquitted at
Manchester Crown Court of cultivating, possessing and supplying the
drug after a three-day trial.

The court had heard that Mr Davies, a former joiner, of Brinnington,
Stockport, formed the Medical Marijuana Co-operative with the aim of
helping sufferers of serious and terminal illnesses. He turned to
cannabis after side-effects from conventional drugs left him
"devastated".

It was the first prosecution in a British court for the supply of the
drug for medical reasons, although other people have been acquitted
for possession on the grounds of illness.