Legal line |
Media savvy
July 2012 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 7
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
READER’S QUESTION:
I’m really worried that I might go to prison for growing
cannabis. I only grow a few plants for my own personal use as
it helps with my severe back pain, and so I don’t have to buy
from dealers. I use cannabis because I don’t want to use
opiate-based medication. I’ve seen lots of stories in the papers
about the police cracking down on people who grow cannabis
and I’m really scared.
KIRSTIE SAYS:
Although it is right that the police are focusing
more on cannabis cultivation, the Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO) recently advised that it
is commercial cultivation that they are targeting.
However, growing cannabis, regardless of the
scale of the operation, remains illegal. If the police
did discover that you were growing cannabis then
you are likely to be arrested for either cultivation
or production of cannabis. If this does happen you
should make sure you get a solicitor – advice and assistance at the police
station is free.
It has been known for someone to receive a formal caution for growing just
a couple of plants, but more often people are charged with an offence and
have to go to court. A caution will be part of a criminal record. Unfortunately
the reason that someone grows or uses cannabis, even if for medical purposes,
is not a defence but may be used as mitigation to reduce any sentence that
may be given by the court.
New sentencing guidelines were issued in February of this year, which
make it clearer how people are likely to be sentenced for drugs offences. For
cultivation/production the starting point of the sentence is determined by
looking at the role of the defendant and then the number of plants and/or
scale of the operation.
If it is clear that it is solely for your own purposes then you should be seen
as having a ‘lesser role’ – the lowest possible. If you have a simple domestic
set-up with just a few plants, the court should accept that the offence is in the
lowest category of harm, which is category 4. The starting point for this
combination is a fine, which can then be reduced for a number of reasons,
including a guilty plea or no previous convictions. This is also where your
medical use may have a little effect.
The sentence starting points obviously get harsher as the defendant’s role
and category of harm increase. The full guideline can be viewed here:
http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/Drug_Offences_Definitive_G
uideline_final_(web).pdf
There is also a risk that the prosecution claim that there is an intention to
supply the cannabis grown, which may lead to additional charges.
Email your legal questions to claire@cjwellings.com
We will pass them to Kirstie to answer in a future issue of DDN.
For more information on sentencing for drugs offences call the Release
helpline on 0845 4500 215.
Release solicitor
Kirstie Douse
answers
your legal questions in her regular column
LEGAL LINE
CAN I GROW CANNABIS TO
HELP WITH MY BACK PAIN?
MEDIA SAVVY
WHO’S BEEN SAYING WHAT..?
The invidious moral crusade against the poor must end. Intelligence has to be
applied to cuts and investment in the poorest and youngest protected.
Observer
editorial
, 10 June
The government caricatures poor people in terms of the worst cases they can
find: so far they have won the public argument.
Polly Toynbee,
Guardian
, 11 June
Being a generous soul, my assumption is that the prime minister doesn't
seriously propose to force tens of thousands of people to live in tents or under
bridges; and that this proposal is only preposterous, and mainly designed to
shore up his rightwing credentials.
Jackie Ashley,
Guardian
, 25 June
The welfare state was meant to be a pillar of our civilisation, the protector of
the genuinely poor and vulnerable. But in modern Britain it has become an
engine of social destruction by promoting fecklessness, irresponsibility and
family breakdown on an epic scale… Through their pose of generosity,
bleeding heart politicians have created a perverse welfare structure that
punishes diligence and rewards idleness.
Leo McKinstry,
Express
, 25 June
Remember it is dangerous to exceed the stated [alcohol] dose and provided
that we all keep to it, 4,579 people a year will not die in England who would
otherwise have died. Let us overlook for a moment the ludicrous precision of
the figure…When official advice is given that is contradictory to official advice
given on the same subject not so very long before, can anyone be surprised
that people deride, despise and ignore it?
Theodore Dalrymple,
Express
, 1 June
Over the years, the Advisory Committee [on the Misuse of Drugs] has
operated less as a dispassionate evaluator of scientific evidence and more as
a Trojan horse for drug legalisation at the heart of government… The most
likely reason why Professor Iversen and the Advisory Committee remain
government advisers is that ministers are unwilling to bite the bullet and
decide once and for all that illegal drugs, including cannabis, are illegal for an
overwhelmingly persuasive reason – and enforce the law properly to protect
society from this scourge.
Melanie Phillips,
Daily Mail
, 20 June
Meet ACMD member Sarah Graham, 43, who has revealed how – as a BBC
executive – she was introduced to cocaine at the Groucho Club and ended up
spending £600 a week on the illegal drug. No doubt she’s very sympathetic to
the stern prosecution of people who break the drug possession laws.
Peter Hitchens,
Mail on Sunday
, 17 June
The prime purpose of prescribing antidepressants is to enable doctors to avoid
being blamed for patients' suicides… Of course some people feel better on
them. This is largely a placebo effect: they feel better when their problems are
medicalised and they are free from responsibility for sorting out their own lives.
Dr Robert Lefever,
Daily Mail
, 8 June
Context is everything, and social context is usually overlooked when mental
health is concerned, despite the fact that poverty and unemployment are still
the biggest predictors of mental distress.
Laurie Penny,
Independent
, 19 June