Cannabis grower with MS let off... after plea to court by top p doctor
Neurologist tells sheriff man used illegal drug to treat his pain
ONE of Scotland’s leading doctors has helped a cannabis grower escape punishment – by claiming the illegal drug can ease symptoms of disease.
Dr Jonathan O’Riordan, a neurologist with NHS Tayside who is also an expert on multiple sclerosis (MS), wrote to the courts on behalf of Neil Beazley who was accused of growing cannabis plants in his home.
The doctor sent an official letter to the court explaining that the drug helped control the MS sufferer’s pain.
And when the case was called in court last week Mr Beazley – although he had pleaded guilty to the charges – was let off with a warning.
The case will be seen as a significant victory for pro-cannabis campaigners who believe that the illegal drug should be accepted as having valuable medicinal qualities.
Mr Beazley, 47, was diagnosed with MS in 2002 and says the chronic disease leaves him barely able to walk and in constant pain.
He says he smokes cannabis ‘not to get high, but to simply continue functioning’ as a person.
And in a highly unusual move, his neurologist, Dr O’Riordan, who has carried out multiple clinical trials into the illness which attacks the central nervous system, wrote to the court in support of the patient he has treated for the past 13 years.
In his NHS Tayside-headed letter,
‘He sees what I suffer and he wants to help’
the doctor, who is on the National Steering Group for the Scottish MS Register, stated: ‘Mr Beazley has multiple sclerosis with associated epilepsy and a history of malignant melanoma.
‘He finds cannabis helpful for symptom relief and indeed cannabinoid agents have been shown to be beneficial for pain relief and spasticity management in MS. I hope this information is helpful.’
Mr Beazley was at home in May last year when 12 police officers raided and discovered six cannabis plants. The father-of-two later pleaded guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court to cultivating cannabis.
Appearing at the court last Thursday on deferred sentence, the MS sufferer was admonished by Sheriff Tom Hughes.
The controversial decision follows renewed intense debate at Westminster on whether or not cannabis – a Class B drug – should be legalised in certain circumstances.
Yesterday, Mr Beazley paid tribute to Dr O’Riordan, who is based at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, for ‘sticking his neck out’ to help him. For nearly two decades, the consultant has participated in more than 20 MS clinical research and drug trials, including one for the mouth spray Sativex, which went on to become the first cannabis-based medicine to be licensed in the UK.
Mr Beazley, of Cupar, Fife, confesses his long-term cannabis use has ruled him out of any clinical tri- als because he would give a false reading. But he added: ‘I’ve always been up front about what I’m doing and the medical profession are generally supportive.
‘It’s a mystery to them why I can still hobble into my appointment with Dr O’Riordan after all this time, when others are bed-bound.
‘I keep fighting and the only way I can do that is by being allowed to continue taking cannabis. Doctors have told me that “whatever I’m doing, it’s working” and to keep doing it.
‘Dr O’Riordan sees the very real pain and suffering that I go through and others like me with MS.
‘I’m full of admiration for him doing what he did, writing to the court like that. I’m not exaggerating by saying I do owe my life to cannabis. Without it, I would be unable to leave my home, would be totally dependent on carers and unable to have any sort of life.’
In MS patients, the body’s immune system destroys the myelin coating of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. The disease is more common in Scotland than in other parts of the UK, but the cause of MS is still a mystery and there is no cure.
MPs debated the issue last month after a petition calling for legalisation drew more than 220,000 signatures. An all-party group wants the UK to try a system where licensed premises sell tested cannabis.
Yesterday, Dr O’Riordan was unavailable to comment further.
The Crown Office said: ‘We will prosecute when there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so.’