Cannabis charges for cancer patient

Long-term cancer sufferer Jacqueline Corris appeared in court yesterday charged with possessing and cultivating cannabis plants which she says she uses for pain relief.

At Ennis District Court yesterday, Ms Corris, of 4 Connolly Villas, Ennis, Co Clare, appeared in court charged with unlawfully possessing a controlled drug and cultivating, without a licence, cannabis plants contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Ms Corris initially appeared in court in February in relation to the charge and the case was adjourned to yesterday for the preparation of a probation report on Ms Corris.

In evidence, Garda Francis Brennan said that during a search of Ms Corris’s home on Oct 24 last, gardaí found 13 cannabis plants that would have a street value of €5,200.

Garda Brennan told the court that Ms Corris admitted that she grew the plants for her own personal use and that they are to treat her own medical condition.

Ms Corris’s solicitor, Joe Chambers told the court yesterday that Ms Corris had been “a long-standing cancer sufferer from her early teens and that would be her main problem”.

On the previous appearance in court, Mr Chambers said: “Ms Corris has the cancer gene. She has had it all of her life. It is a family problem.”

Mr Chambers said that Ms Corris’s last bout of cancer was in 2006, but added: “It is an ongoing problem”.

“Ms Corris has had a very serious medical problem all her life and this has led to numerous operations as a result and the only pain relief she gets is from taking this plant. She accepts that she shouldn’t have done this and has told the guards that she has varied her ways.”

In court yesterday, Mr Chambers said the probation report was “very favourable” towards his client.

He said: “Ms Corris has fully co-operated with the State and there is full acceptance by the State that she is not part of any criminal network.”

Mr Chambers said that Ms Corris had “entered a very early plea of guilt and that there is a strong likelihood that the lady will not re-offend”.

Ms Corris is self-employed and has no previous convictions.

Judge Pat Durcan said: “The report is very positive and one must compliment Ms Corris on the efforts she has made to remedy the situation.

“There has been an early plea; she is not part of any ring; what was grown was cultivated for personal use and she is unlikely to re-offend,” he said.

Judge Durcan said that he would balance all of this against the seriousness of the offence.

The judge said he would adjourn the case for six months and if there were no difficulties of any kind between now and then, he would strike out the charges.

Judge Durcan remanded Ms Corris on continuing bail to reappear before Ennis District Court to Oct 10.

In a recent written Dáil response, the minister for state at the Department of Health, Róisín Shortall, confirmed the department was examining issues around allowing cannabis-based medicinal products, such as Sativex, to sufferers of multiple sclerosis and other medical conditions on prescription.