United Kingdom: Multiple sclerosis patient acquitted of growing cannabis

Carlisle Magistrates' Court in northern England yesterday acquitted multiple sclerosis patient Lesley Gibson, 55, and her husband Mark Gibson of possession and cultivation of cannabis.

The Gibson home had been raided in January 2019, confiscating 10 early-growth cannabis plants and three homemade cannabis chocolate bars. While many police departments across the country have decided not to pursue self-cultivation for personal use, particularly for medical purposes, the Carlisle court persisted.

The case weighed heavily on the Gibsons, with Lesley developing sarcoma in the meantime and receiving treatment to eliminate the cancerous cells last November.

The defense argued that the Gibsons had no choice but to grow cannabis at home to manage Lesley's MS as Lesley had been unable to access an NHS prescription, while the cost of a private prescription was prohibitive, £700.

The Gibsons were acquitted today, the court deciding it was not in the public interest to proceed, and Lesley having managed to buy himself a private prescription from medical marijuana.

The couple faced up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both.

The acquittal does not create a precedent. It does, however, emphasize that it is not in the public interest to prosecute patients who have no choice but to use medical cannabis to treat themselves. Lesley's legal team intends to ask the court to review its policy on prosecuting medical cannabis use.

The MS Society, an association of multiple sclerosis sufferers, estimates that 10,000 MS patients use cannabis to relieve muscle spasticity and pain, with only a small fraction having been legally prescribed to date.

Ms. Gibson's lawyer, Tayab Ali, stated that 'it cannot be right to prosecute a person who has no choice but to use medical cannabis. The law clearly needs to change.»