A JOINT KILLS MY PAIN FOR DAYS MS VICTIM

By David Hartley

Multiple Sclerosis victim Biz Ivol suffered pain "like barbed wire being
dragged through my spine" before she found relief through cannabis.

Mrs. Ivol, 50, will be sentenced next month for growing 27 cannabis plants
at her home in Herston, South Ronaldsay, Orkney.

Yesterday she told of the remarkable painkilling effects of the drug.
Mrs. Ivol was diagnosed with MS seven years ago.

"The symptoms have got progressively worse," she said. "There have been
times when I've wondered about carrying on."

Mrs. Ivol agonised for two years about using cannabis.
"Painkillers weren't working any more," she said.
"I knew I was breaking the law but it was a risk I had to take because
there was nothing else left for me.

"I just smoke a joint every five days. Within an hour all the pain
has gone. "I suddenly found I could feel the toes at the end of my
feet for the first time in three years.

"I used to lose the sight in my left eye if I became stressed. Since I
started using cannabis that no longer happens."

Mrs. Ivol said the drug helped her sleep and improved her mobility.

She sews soft toys for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Age
Concern and was recently presented with a certificate praising her
outstanding voluntary work.

"All I want to do is look after myself, my dogs and my cat," she said.

"I don't want people looking after me or to be put in a home and cannabis
is all I've got to preserve my independence."