Cannabis user from Newhall speaks out

A 40-YEAR-OLD cannabis user, from Newhall, has previously been a promoter of the Burton on Trent Cannabis Club and the South Derbyshire group and is a passionate advocate of the legalisation of the Class B drug which has divided the nation.

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Andrew Beckley has bravely chosen to speak out in a bid to educate people into why cannabis should be legalised for medicinal purposes.

In a nutshell, he believes legalising cannabis would rid the streets of the dangerous legal highs known as synthetic cannabis 'which are killing children', reimburse communities, provide much needed pain relief and help save the police time and money.

And why does Andrew think people would stop taking the dangerous synthetic highs if the drug was made legal? - "Because people want to take the healthy option and it will be cheaper. We will undercut the dealers. We would take it off the streets and give back to the local communities. It would also save the police time and money."

However, he may have to wait a while as the Government does not seem to be backing down.

In 2011, The Global Commission on Drug Policy called for a review. The Home Office response was: "We have no intention of liberalising our drugs laws. Drugs are illegal because they are harmful - they destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities."

The self-employed handyman says he hardly ever smokes cannabis anymore and only tried it after suffering bad migraines and epilepsy since a school dispute years ago led to a head injury.

"I started getting bad migraines someone passed me a spliff (a cigarette containing cannabis) and it cleared the migraine. It was like magic."

The former William Allitt pupil has seen both his grandfather and father lose their battles with cancer, and was so worried about his ailing father that he said: "I have heard cannabis helps people with cancer. I don't think it is a cure for everyone but at one point my dad was so ill that I put some cannabis cake near him and said if he wanted it, it was there. I wouldn't give it to him because that is supplying.

"My dad didn't touch it because he was a law abiding man. He didn't want to break the law, so he was in pain."

Andrew worries he will be struck with cancer but says he would rather take cannabis than go through chemo.

He quotes a news article on 'Charlotte's Web' named after Charlotte Figi, a five-year-old patient whose rare form of epilepsy improved after just one dose of liquid marijuana.

"She used to have about 3,000 fits a week, but now has about two a month."

Witnessing someone having a fit can be terrifying and Andrew's daughter used to think he was dying when he was having a seizure.

However, he says: "It has been over two years since I have had a seizure. It used to be a nightly thing and I am hardly smoking it at all now because I don't feel the need to."

But the father-of-three makes no secret in wanting to keep children away from cannabis as it can 'damage young, growing minds.' He says he has never smoked it in front of his children and won't go near it when he is in charge of them, or before driving.

Peer pressure is a popular reason for cannabis consumption but Andrew believes that legalisation could actually make the drug 'uncool' to the younger generations.

He said: "In Colorado, where it is legal, a lot of older people take it for health reasons and it is now seen as uncool by the young people."

It remains to be seen whether Andrew will win his fight.

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/Cannabis-user-Newhall-bravely-speaks/story-22793689-detail/story.html 21/08/2014