CANNABIS USER IN CALL FOR DEBATE

A Plymouth man convinced of the medicinal benefits of cannabis is
campaigning for a public debate about use of the drug. Stuart Wyatt
suffers from crippling pain from an undiagnosed illness, and says it
is relieved only by taking cannabis, which he eats or inhales through
a vaporiser.

Mr Wyatt, who lives on income support in a room in Morice Town, has
even been to Charles Cross police station three times about cannabis
issues, on one occasion asking to speak to Chief Constable Morris Watts.

He said: "I want to make enough noise to be noticed and have a public
and open debate, and I am trying to get a stall in the city centre.

"I don't understand why we are being victimised and persecuted for the
sole crime of wanting to be well.

"The Government is spinning information about cannabis being the cause
of psychosis.

"I think kids shouldn't be smoking the top-notch skunk, and cannabis
can be bad for people with a predisposition to paranoia, but the
numbers are negligible."

Mr Wyatt, 34, rejects the claimed link between cannabis and mental
illness, and says it has been used as a medicine for 5,000 years.

He claims cannabis is the only drug which relieves his symptoms, and
the 10 days he spent without it to clear his system were the worst 10
days of his life.

He said: "The pain I have is incredible.

"My whole body feels bruised and it's as if microscopic drilling
machines are burrowing through my bones.

"I also have mobility and dexterity problems.

"People are losing their minds on NHS medication, but when I take
cannabis I don't get stoned, I feel normal."

Mr Wyatt said: "Cannabis is a wonder-drug, 10 times more effective
than conventional medicines and 10 times safer - you can't overdose on
it."

Mr Wyatt has founded a 'virtual community' which is now managed by
others. For details, visit http://humedi.org.uk

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/