'I should have gone to prison'
Drug case cancer woman calls for legalising of cannabis

A cancer victim who escaped a prison sentence for her part in a
UKP30,000 drug deal admitted last night she should have been jailed.

Suzanne Smith, 42, said the law had left her with no option but to turn
to crime and called for the Government to legalise cannabis for medical
use.

Smith, a grandmother, walked free from the High Court in Edinburgh on
Monday. She had been caught with 6 kilos of the drug during a Fife
police operation which netted cannabis worth nearly UKP400,000 on the
streets.

She had earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin
at Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy on 14 March last year after a police
surveillance operation.

Speaking at her home last night she had no regrets but said patients
were being forced into a life of crime in a bid to ease their suffering.

She said: "I thought I was going to jail.

"At the end of the day I broke the law and should have gone to jail but
I do think cannabis should be legalised, if not for everyone, then for
those who need it for medical purposes.

"I had to make myself a criminal to help with the disease. Everyone is
entitled to the chance of having something to help them. I would say
push for legalisation but don't break the law."

Smith takes 27 vitamin supplements each day and is convinced homeopathic
remedies combined with smoking cannabis have helped her to ease the pain
of ovarian cancer. She follows a strict daily regime of herbal remedies
including Icelandic kelp, linseed oil, garlic and starflower oil.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 4 years ago and believes doctors
should open their minds to more unorthodox methods of treatment.

"I would say alcohol and tobacco had done more damage than cannabis. If
I hadn't had cannabis I would have had to take valium, laxatives and
strong pain killers which I didn't want to get hooked on.

"Doctors are very blinkered and are not interested unless the drugs are
traditional and can be prescribed. The aftertreatment is poor and they
send you away from the hospital with no hope.

"Most people have a very negative attitude to cancer. They accept it is
a death sentence but people should look at other methods and how they
can help.

"A lot of people are scared to take alternative methods but if you have
ovarian cancer what choice do you have?"

Ms Smith, who is seperated from her husband and now relies on the
support of her boyfriend, Thomas, says she is finding it more difficult
to cope with her illness since giving up cannabis.

"I now feel so much more stressed, I'm smoking much more and I've lost
my appetite. The cannabis worked as a muscle relaxant, it prevented
nausea and helped with the pain. It is so much harder for me now."