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[john1311]

A multiple sclerosis patient who was facing jail for growing cannabis to ease her pain was acquitted today after the case against her collapsed.
Lesley Gibson, 55, and her husband, Mark, received not guilty verdicts at Carlisle Crown Court after being charged for possession and cultivation of the class B drug.
Their home was raided in January last year with police confiscating ten baby cannabis plants and three home-made cannabis chocolate bars. If convicted the pair faced up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both.
Medical cannabis has been legal in Britain for more than a year but only under strict conditions. The difficulty of obtaining an NHS prescription means tens of thousands of patients are still using the black market to get the drug.
The MS Society estimates that 10,000 MS patients use cannabis to alleviate muscle spasticity and pain but campaigners say only a handful have so far been prescribed the drug legally.
Two months ago, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) approved a cannabis-based treatment for MS called Sativex but the NHS will only offer it to those with “moderate to severe” spasticity which has not improved while taking other treatments. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/ms-patient-who-grew-cannabis-to-ease-her-pain-is-acquitted-on-drug-charges-jr65qrhmg