UK court rules against medicinal cannabis users

A group of Britons appealing against convictions for illegally using cannabis for pain relief suffered a blow on Friday when three of the country’s top judges ruled they were not exempt from the law.

The five people mounting the test case argued they were entitled to a defence of “necessity” because the drug was needed for pain relief, was more effective than some conventional medicines and did not have the associated side effects.

But Lord Justice Mance said they had failed to prove their claim.

When the case was heard in February, lawyers for the five had argued that the use of cannabis for pain relief should be exempt from the general law penalising the use of the drug.

They said that someone in great pain was entitled to a defence of necessity if they were caught using cannabis.

The five were: 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 were given either a fine, community service or suspended jail sentence after their convictions.

The Court of Appeal heard that one of the appellants, Barry Quayle, had had both legs amputated below the knee and suffered pain from damaged tissue and “phantom limb” sensation.

In another case, Reay Wales had used cannabis to relieve the pain of serious bone and pancreas conditions.

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