CAMPAIGNER READY TO GO TO PRISON

A SELF-confessed cannabis users says he is prepared to go to prison to
highlight his campaign for legalisation of the drug.

Businessman, David Wilson, claims his battle against the establishment
started in the summer of 1997 when he was arrested for breach of the peace
after soaking a friend with a bucket of water in Blackburn town centre.

When he was searched at Blackburn police station he was found to have 2 UK
pounds worth of cannabis in his pocket.

Dave, of Bolton Road, Ewood, Blackburn, said: "I was charged with
possession of cannabis. But when I asked if I would be cautioned as this
was my first offence, my request was refused, and I was bailed to appear
before local magistrate."

"Then I read in the paper that Jack Straw's son William has received a
caution for selling drugs to an undercover reporter."

"I was disgusted. I hadn't tried to sell drugs - what I had was a small
amount of home-grown cannabis that had been given to me by a friend for my
own personal use."

So Dave, who owns aromatherapy shop Naturally Yours, decided to take his
fight to clear his name to the Crown Court.

Representing himself he pleaded not guilty to possession of cannabis as he
felt the case against him was unjust.

He cross-examined the police officers involved in his case about their
policy for cautioning and asked the judge if he could show the jury some
articles about jurors' rights and the Magna Carta, which state that if a
jury feels a law is unjust they can find the defendant not guilty.

Dave said: "The judge told me not to come into his court with 10th century
laws and instructed the jury to return a guilty verdict."

"I was fined 1000 UK pounds and told that if I didn't pay the fines I would
go to prison for seven days - all this for 2 pounds worth of cannabis.

"God only knows how much my trial has cost the taxpayers and it will cost
them even more if I go to prison. But I am refusing to pay the fine on
principle, so prison is inevitable.

"It is about time this law was changed and the Government realised that
people are not doing any harm by smoking cannabis.

"There are worse things people could be doing than smoking pot and money
should be spent on punishing hardened criminals not people like me.

"Sending me to prison will not do any good - it will just cause suffering
to the taxpayers, my wife and my five-year-old daughter."

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the sentence for
possession of cannabis varies from judge to judge but would be within the
maximum and minimum sentence allowed for the offence. The maximum sentence
magistrate's can impose for a first offence of possession of cannabis is
six months imprisonment and a 5000 pound fine.