An attempt to effectively legalise the use of cannabis for the relief of chronic pain was rejected by the Court of Appeal today.
Three judges ruled against argument that conduct which would otherwise be unlawful was “excused or justified by the need to avoid a greater evil” and that the defence of necessity should be available to those who used or supplied the Class C drug to alleviate severe pain.
The court had been told that cannabis was more effective than conventional forms of pain relief and did not have the potentially serious and life-threatening side-effects of alternative treatments.
But the judges ruled that the defences of necessity or duress should be confined to cases where someone committed what would otherwise be an unlawful act to avoid “imminent danger of physical injury’’.
The court dismissed appeals by Barry Quayle, 38, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire; Reay Wales, 53, of Ipswich; Graham Kenny, 25, from Shipley, West Yorkshire; and Anthony Taylor, 54, and May Po Lee, 28, both from London.
All had been given either a fine, community service or suspended jail sentence for possessing or importing the drug.
The judges also ruled that the defence of necessity should not have succeeded in the case of Jeffrey Ditchfield, of North Wales, who was acquitted of possessing the drug with intent to supply it to victims of serious and painful medical conditions.
Despite the decision, Mr Ditchfield cannot now be convicted of the offence.
The court heard that Mr Quayle had both legs amputated below the knee and suffered pain from damaged tissue and “phantom limb’’ sensation.
Mr Wales had used cannabis to relieve the pain of serious bone and pancreas conditions.
Mr Kenny smoked cannabis to relieve chronic back pain.
Mr Taylor ran a holistic clinic in King’s Cross, north London, with some 700 patients, many suffering from Aids or MS.
Ms Lee was a former employee at a health shop run by Mr Taylor below his clinic.
They were both convicted of importing the drug.