CANNABIS PLANT GRAN HAS HER SENTENCE CUT

A GRANDMOTHER prosecuted for growing four cannabis plants in a
walk-in wardrobe was back in front of a judge yesterday.

But this time Patricia Tabram was not in any trouble.

Instead the 69-year-old, who was convicted and sentenced in March for
cultivating the illegal drug, was at Carlisle Crown Court to have part
of her sentence dropped.

In March Tabram, after being found guilty of breaking drug laws by
growing cannabis to put in her home baked cakes as a medicine, was
ordered to do 250 hours unpaid community work, with UKP1,000 court costs.

But yesterday the court heard that the community work she was doing -
counselling children in care - was no longer available.

Although she had done only 74 1/2 hours of it, there was nothing else
she could do because of a mystery illness which is seeing her lose 1lb
every day.

Tabram was not able to provide a medical certificate as evidence of
her illness, because she refuses to see a doctor on the grounds that
she might pick up some other ailment in the surgery.