British granny escapes jail over cannabis crop

2 hours, 6 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - A 68-year-old British woman who cooks with cannabis to ease her depression, aches and pains walked free from court Wednesday after being convicted of growing and possessing the drug.


Patricia Tabram was ordered to carry out 250 hours' unpaid community service and pay 1,000 pounds (1,470 euros, 1,930 dollars) in costs for cultivating four plants in a wardrobe and storing powdered cannabis in her kitchen.

A judge at Carlisle Crown Court, north-west England, had told the unassuming grandmother, who has become the focus for campaigners wanting to legalise the drug, that she could face a jail sentence.

Tabram was in breach of a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years and handed down in April 2005, after she was found with cannabis and plants.

The former chef and teacher -- who likens herself to the Suffragettes, the early 20th century campaigners British women's right to vote -- said she used the drug to make curries, casseroles, biscuits and soups for local people.

She could now be out on the streets for being in breach of a tenancy agreement with the social housing association which owns her bungalow in the town of Humshaugh in Northumberland, north-east England.

A spokesman for the housing association said it had spoken to her several times about the breach and would be holding a further meeting with her to decide whether she should be evicted, he added.

But grey-haired Tabram was defiant, telling reporters after the case: "I am still going to medicate with cannabis.

"This court is not fit for purpose and I am taking up an appeal and putting in a complaint about the fact I was not allowed to have a defence. The law and justice do not exist in this country any more."

Tabram was arrested and charged after police acting on a tip-off found the cannabis plants growing in a wardrobe at her home.

Powdered cannabis was found in a jar next to her cooker in the kitchen. She also confessed to police that her freezer was packed with dope-laced curries, casseroles and ice cream.

Officers declined to seize it because they did not want to deprive her of food.

Tabram wrote a book after her first conviction, "Grandma Eats Cannabis", appeared on chat shows and even stood in the 2005 general election on a pro-cannabis ticket.

my kinda grandma

[philemmons]

[Jantheman]

Gee, and I thought it was bad when my Grandma ate watercress and kale.

[njohnson747]

Cataracts, dude, cataracts. Granny's got 5 on the 20 sack.