ACCUSED IN BED FIGHTS DRUG COUNT

In a corner of the Kaikohe courthouse lay Jon Andrews in bed, wearing
a nightgown with Maori designs.

He came to court by ambulance yesterday to tell a jury that cannabis
alleviates the pain of his grossly swollen leg.

"Rather than taking morphine, I take cannabis so that I can still talk
to my wife," he said. "She finds I can communicate better on this stuff."

The 34-year-old Far North beneficiary is charged with possessing
cannabis oil for supply during August 2000. This week, with help from
his wife and a friend of the court, he is defending the charge from a
hospital bed with an oxygen bottle nearby.

Yesterday, Andrews told the district court how he smoked cannabis
daily as relief from an illness that had caused him to be in and out
of hospital for several years.

He has lymphoedema, an abnormal accumulation of lymph that causes
swelling. One of his legs now weighs around 80kg.

Smoking cannabis, he said, was a better alternative to morphine, which
left him unable to talk.

The Crown alleges that several items found at Andrews' home were
evidence of cannabis oil to supply.

While he was sleeping on his couch, a detective found beside him 5g of
cannabis oil stashed in straws, a list of names and $200 in cash.

Police believed the names were from a "tick list", commonly used in
the drug dealing trade.

But Andrews said the list was a donation or koha list from his
brother's tangi. The cash was his wife's banking money, and the only
person who used the cannabis was himself.

The jury will deliberate today.