MS SUFFERER FEELS CONFUSION WILL LEAVE HER CLASSED A CRIMINAL

A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer who grows her own cannabis for medicinal use
said yesterday the reclassification of the drug would simply lead to more
confusion and called for it to be fully decriminalised.

Elizabeth Ivol, from South Ronaldsay, Orkney, supplies cannabis to people
with MS and other illnesses. She could still find herself charged with
dealing, despite the decision to downgrade cannabis from a class-B to a
class-C drug.

She will go to court next week when she will face one count of supplying
the drug, as well as being charged for its possession and use.

Although she welcomed signs that the government was easing its stance on
cannabis, Mrs Ivol, 54, felt reclassification would do little to make her
life easier.

"It is all very confusing because we are still going to be classed as
criminals, even if we aren't arrested when the cannabis is for personal use.

"When I don't smoke cannabis, I get muscle spasms and I lose my eyesight.
It can help anorexics because it enhances appetite and glaucoma sufferers
have also found it improves their sight.

"It is the politicians who are criminals, not us. They are stopping sick
people using something that can really help them."

However, anti-drugs and anti-smoking groups were concerned that cannabis
itself posed a serious health risk and were concerned at the effect
reclassification would have on young people, who might see it as a green
light to take the drug regularly.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF) said that smoking cannabis was at least
as harmful as smoking tobacco and might carry a higher risk of some
respiratory cancers. It is conducting a review of the published medical and
scientific evidence on the impact of smoking cannabis on lung health.

The report, A Smoking Gun? The Impact of Smoking Cannabis on Respiratory
Health, is expected to indicate that cannabis smokers are at an increased
risk of cancers and infections.

Helena Shovelton, chief executive of BLF, said: "The government spends
millions of pounds a year on smoking cessation and public education about
the dangers of smoking, yet smoking cannabis is at least as harmful as
smoking tobacco and, indeed, may carry a higher risk of some respiratory
cancers."

Ash Scotland, an anti-smoking group, warned that, as well as the possible
health risks of cannabis, the addictive qualities of the tobacco that many
people use with it when making joints can lead them to smoke ordinary
cigarettes on a regular basis.

Tanith Muller, the group's spokeswoman, added: "There are no filters on
joints and also the way they are smoked, with people tending to inhale much
more deeply, does give us concerns.

"We would be keen to emphasise that 100 times more people in Scotland die
every year from tobacco-related diseases than they do from illegal drugs."