A woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis has been spared jail after she claimed the reason she grew £40,000 worth of cannabis in her home was because Prince Charles inspired her to. She claims that she had heard The Prince of Wales talking about its medical benefits.
Michelle X, who starred in a Channel Five TV documentary “37 years on the dole”, told Oxford Crown Court that she admitted to growing the drugs although added that the drugs law was unfair.
Miss X was given a conditional discharge after it was decided that the cannabis was to self-medicate for multiple sclerosis.
The 49-year-old told the court in her defence that: “In the 1990s I saw Prince Charles on the TV and he was talking to someone who had MS.
“The Prince asked him: ‘Have you tried cannabis? I’ve heard it is good for MS,” said Miss X told the court.
“At this point I thought if a member of the Royal Family knows about this plant, I should investigate it further.”
Miss X, who changed her name after her marriage broke down, lashed out at the jury after she was convicted, saying: “You are just costing yourselves (by paying my benefits) and I’m just going to keep offending until the law is changed.
“I will go on doing this even if it ends up with me in jail – I am willing to give my entire life for it. I stand by my words 100 per cent,” she told the court after defending herself.”
During the trial, Judge Peter Ross told jurors: “It is an unusual case, isn’t it? In my 12 years as a full time judge it is the first time I have had to deal with something like this.
“It is not my role and it is not your role to change the law.”
It was bought to the jury’s attention that NHS drugs regulator NICE has approved cannabis drugs on prescription for MS sufferers, however, they were not available for Miss X. He added: ‘Therefore she resorts to the only other course which she feels open to her – she is going to use cannabis.’
