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Grandma faces eviction for using medical cannabis

schmoo | 28.04.2007 15:41 | Bio-technology | Health | Repression

A campaign to support Pat Tabram (the 'Grandma who Eats Cannabis') is being launched to prevent her cruel and vindictive eviction from her home because she publicly refuses to stop self medicating with natural organic cannabis, and won't keep her mouth shut.


The Cannabis Grandma, Pat Tabram has received a letter telling her to appear in Court on July 6th, to face possible eviction from her housing association rented house.

Pat is almost 69-years-of-age, and admits to using about 0.1 (one tenth) of a gram a day in her food as medication for several long term health conditions. She chooses to do this rather than use the many prescribed drugs on offer through the NHS, which she found did not help, and in fact carried the risk of many very serious possible side-effects.

She was recently found guilty of cannabis cultivation and given an unusually harsh sentence of 200 hours community service and ordered to pay £1000 costs.

Her local housing association for her home in Humshaugh, then told her that if they believe that she is using cannabis they will evict her, and put that on suspended notice for two years.

After the court case and since, Pat defiantly told the press that she will continue to medicate with cannabis.

Now, apparently the local KGB style police, who have been harassing her for years, have asked the Housing Association to take the case to court on July 6 to evict her.

Picture + more information & links at:  http://schmoontherun.blogspot.com/2007/04/cannabis-grandma-faces-eviction-from.html

schmoo

Comments

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sick society

28.04.2007 18:38

thats sick..but keep heart..lets hope those evil housing workers/pol-lice,s houses crumble down on their own heads..damm them....solidarity gran..well done gran..your struggle is all of ours..and trust..we are gonna win ..try and make provision for the old lady in advance ..as much as you are able..in case the evil get their way and evict her...respect gran from all rebels everywhere the world over....the spirit of monty python lives with and through you!!! go on gran bash the bastards untill we can all do it for you!!!

peter

So organise a blockade

28.04.2007 20:26

"go on gran bash the bastards untill we can all do it for you!"

Why can't we ? I don't mean bash the bastards, I mean travel there en mass and physically prevent her eviction the way the Poll Tax blockades used to prevent Baillifs evicting people in Edinburgh and Glasgow ?

This is totally out of order. I gave up grass 7 months ago and hope to steer clear of it but evicting someone for self-medicating with a plant is bullshit. I'd travel down for that.

Danny

turn the tables, use the law

30.04.2007 13:27

I have a client who is due in court for a similar reason, cultivating cannabis in his home for his own medical use. In his case, his HA have gone for a demoted tenancy (means your tenancy is made less secure) first, which admittedly is easier to defend than a straight eviction application. However, a vigorous defence from a dedicated advocate could well scupper the attempt to evict this granny. It is not impossible for working class people to use the law in their own defence. The law is not as "mysterious" as society's rulers would have them believe. The difficulty is finding a person with the technical skills and political dedication to do the representation.
A legal defence would still work best combined with a support campaign that included all or any of these: packing the public gallery of the court with supporters, press releases, letters of condemnation to the HA's chief executive, demonstrations outside the HA's local office, and, of course, a blockade of her home to prevent eviction.
An eviction hearing is held in the county court and by custom, you do not need to be a qualified solicitor to represent some-one in the county court. Has this granny looked for a suitably dedicated and experienced person to represent her in court? It could be some-one who's worked for a CAB, advice centre or law centre, it doesn't have to be a solicitor.

Annie Citizen
- Homepage: http://www.mumblingsfromacitizensadvocate.blogspot.com