Mr. Yates, who suffers from tongue cancer, claims that his throat has been irreparably damaged by the radiation treatment he has been undergoing. He says marijuana is the only effective tool he has found to relieve his pain. Previously caught in 2011 for growing marijuana, he continued the process until he was once again caught at his home in Brockworth, Gloucester and ultimately arrested in April.
Yates has pleaded guilty at Gloucester crown court to growing three dozen cannabis plants in his home and supplying some of his growing’s to his tenant. Amazingly, after hearing of Mr. Yates medical ailments Judge William Hart refused to send him to jail, he in fact refused to pass a suspended sentence! “You know that ordinarily a custodial sentence would be considered and might even be inevitable for this sort of offence but I would not be able to live with myself if I sent you to prison,” said Judge Hart. He went on to elaborate “That would express no humanity or compassion and it would be a sad day if these courts lost sight of humanity and compassion when it is appropriate.”
Yates, a property listing manager, was given a one year conditional discharge. Mr. Yates who is a father of two and a grandfather of four spoke with a husky, weak voice due to his illness, but described Judge Hart as a “fabulous man”.
According to Prosecutor Janine Woods, local police raided Yates’ home on April 9th of this year and found three dozen marijuana plants growing in a spare bedroom. The street value of the cannabis was estimated to be between 10 and 30 thousand British Pounds. Upon questioning Yates admitted that the plants were for his own personal use and that the only other individual who knew of or used the illegal plants were his tenant Anthony Young.
In July of 2012 Yates received a similar 6 month conditional discharge for his initial offense for illegally growing marijuana. Mr.Yates’ defense attorney, Joe Maloney, told the court that his client was “very, very ill indeed,” and that the “only thing he has found which ameliorates his pain is cannabis.”
When passing down his sentence Judge Hart told Yates “You have been suffering for some time now with a very serious cancer and you have undergone treatment which has been, I am sure, very unpleasant and very distressing. The prognosis for you is bleak. You find some comfort in the consumption of cannabis. You drink whisky and you also find comfort in that. The pain relief provided by doctors does not provide you with what you need. Someone in your position is very different to the usual defendant who comes before this court charge with this offence.”
Ultimately Judge Hart ordered that all of Yates’ drug paraphernalia and growing equipment be destroyed. The judge was kind enough to allow Mr. Yates to keep the box in which the equipment was kept after Yates told the court that it held much sentimental value to him because it had previously belonged to his father.
Following his sentencing Mr. Yates said he would have been utterly ashamed if he had been sent to prison because it would result in him feeling as if he was letting down his 20-year old University student daughter, who had been of the utmost help to him during his time of illness. Mr. Yates gave the following statement; “Obviously I know that cannabis is illegal in this country at the moment, But you don’t have to look far around the world to find places where it is legal – 11 States in America, South Africa, Brazil, some parts of Australia, Holland, Turkey. They all allow growing of cannabis for its medicinal qualities.”
He said his radiation treatment in 2011 had reduced the tumour so that he is now in remission but it had left him without a sense of taste or smell and without the ability to produce saliva. He constantly has to drink water and use an artificial saliva spray.Neither is he able to chew or swallow food and is fed through a tube directly into his stomach.It is the pain in his throat at the base of his tongue that a nightly smoke of 3-4 joints of cannabis relieves so effectively he said.
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British Judge Refuses to Jail Cancer Patient Who Grew Over 30 Cannabis Plants
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