[420 Girl]

An Inverness man convicted at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday of growing cannabis plants at his home said he now faces a life of constant pain.

It was said that Alexander Mearns, 62, of 130 Old Edinburgh Road, used the drug to ease excruciating pain in his back, hips and legs but, since he was caught, he has had to go back to chemical painkillers.

Mr Mearns was fined £300 after admitting producing the class B drug in the loft of his house.

Police found six large cannabis plants and 10 small cuttings. They also recovered 229 grams of herbal cannabis. The total had a street value of £1,300, the court was told.

Sheriff Derek Pyle said: “I have considerable sympathy with you but, at the end of the day, courts and prosecuting authorities and the police have to enforce the law as it stands, not as what some think it ought to be, I’m afraid.”

Outside court, Mr Mearns said he believed the sheriff had been “very fair”, but he said he thought the fine was quite heavy.

He said: “It should be made legal.

“In Canada you are allowed to grow two plants, and in America they have machines where you can get cannabis if you have a doctor’s line.”

Mr Mearns has suffered from cancer three times in the past 13 years and has diabetes, arthritis and back pain due to a twisted spine, and found smoking cannabis a great relief.

Before taking cannabis Mr Mearns was on a daily diet of 14 to 16 pills, including morph*ne-based tablets, despite the dose being a maximum of just eight.

The former lorry driver said cannabis made a huge difference to the quality of his life.

He said: “It really does work. Previously, I was in constant pain and could not walk far. After taking cannabis I could get out the house again and even go fishing.

“The effects were outstanding – so much so that I stopped taking my painkillers.”

Mr Mearns said, although he was saving the NHS the cost of his painkiller prescriptions, buying cannabis on “the street” was costing him a fortune, so he decided to grow his own for his personal use.

But now he has reverted to the painkillers, and the pain he thought he had eased has returned. He said: “Now I can’t go anywhere again. I can’t even walk upstairs, so I have to sleep on the couch in the living room.

“I really can’t do anything.”

His wife, Elaine, 53, said: “When he started using cannabis, I got the hubby back that I used to know. Now it’s just a case of popping pills every day, and he’s in considerable pain.”

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