COURT TOLD CANNABIS PREFERRED FOR PAIN RELIEF

Two cases heard recently in the Dunedin District Court on the same day (
ODT , 18.12.01) illustrated two different kinds of cannabis offending as
well as highlighting the growing incidence of New Zealanders using it in
preference to pharmaceutical drugs, and the inability of prohibition to
successfully cope with this phenomenon. Case one was typical of the visible
face of cannabis use and the reason why it is generally associated with
crime: cannabis cultivation was discovered by police visiting the
defendant's home while investigating a different matter. Having been
"finally warned" in 1997, the defendant had made lifestyle changes, but
still preferred to use cannabis for a painful, debilitating illness. He was
now using "very heavy medication" for pain relief instead.

The second case represented the invisible majority of cannabis users. The
middle-aged defendant was "a responsible man whose attitude towards
cannabis doesn't fit in with the rest of his life" making it obvious that
cannabis cultivation in a private garden was the only crime committed.
Cannabis was again being used for pain relief in preference to the
medication, which made the defendant feel funny, prescribed by a pain
clinic following a previous conviction. Regardless, the judge advised him
"to look at other areas of pain relief" adding that "while it is an offence
to cultivate cannabis you will have to respect the law". But how can anyone
respect a law which is contemptuous of fact, common sense, and the
well-being and integrity of those who claim benefit from the "medical
miracle" ( ODT , 7.11.01) cannabis?

Jason Baker-Sherman

Dalmore