Pubdate: Sat, 09 Apr 2005
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2005 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Helen McCormack
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

GRANDMOTHER FINED FOR DRUG DEALS

A grandmother convicted of dealing drugs after being caught supplying
cannabis to a circle of elderly friends has escaped a prison sentence.

Patricia Tabram, 66, developed a late liking for the drug after being
introduced to it early last year and began sprinkling it into the
pies, casseroles and cakes she baked from her remote bungalow in the
village of Humshaugh, in Northumberland.

Startled at the relief it brought to her various aches and pains, and
with the zeal of a convert, she began distributing her discovery among
her friends, who have an average age of 75. They too reported
improvements to their health. But someone detected strange smells
coming from Tabram's bungalow and tipped off the police, who
investigated and eventually arrested her.

Tabram protested her innocence, explaining that her consumption had
been purely for medicinal purposes. The police, though, had other
ideas, and after her sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday,
said her house "bore all the hallmarks of a sophisticated drug dealer".

The first thing they discovered when they raided her house last summer
was a cannabis plant on a hallway table. Another 31 plants were
growing in the loft, and AUKP854 worth of skunk cannabis, including 47
eight-ounce wraps, were stashed in her fridge and bedside cabinet. A
handwritten "tic sheet" was found in her handbag, containing lists of
customers, with the amount sold to them and profit made. Scales and
hundreds of resealable bags completed the picture.

The decision to charge Tabram came after taking advice from the Crown
Prosecution Service, the police said. Insisting that she was "helping
to perpetuate a criminal cycle", the police added in a statement:
"Ultimately our message is quite clear - if you deal in drugs you will
be targeted and bought to justice."

After a court appearance in December, in which she pleaded guilty to a
charge of possession with intent to supply, Tabram has become a cause
for the pro-cannabis campaigners and plans to stand as an
MP for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance in Neath. She has written a
book, Grandma Eats Cannabis, which she hopes to have published.

Judge David Hodson said he refused to make a martyr of her and gave
her a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and a AUKP750
fine.

Outside court, Tabram said: "I do intend to continue using cannabis,
but I haven't given any to anyone since the day I was arrested. I
think it is a better medicine than what you receive from the NHS. But
I am no more addicted to cannabis than I am to soap operas. I will
continue to go to people's houses and cook for them if people get
their own ingredients."

She no longer had need to travel to buy her supplies, she added, as a
"young man" now delivered her home and those of her friends.

Note:
After a court appearance in December, in which she pleaded guilty to a 
charge of possession with intent to supply, Tabram has become a cause  for 
the pro-cannabis campaigners and plans to stand as an MP for the Legalise 
Cannabis Alliance in Neath. She has written a book, Grandma Eats Cannabis, 
which she hopes to have published.
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MAP posted-by: Derek