Woman of the Year
Today [apparently] is International Women’s Day.
The day should be marked by honouring Patricia Tabram.
“Who the F*ck is Patricia Tabram?” I hear you ask.
She is a 68 year old grandma in the North of England, who has been convicted yet again for the possession and supply of cannabis.
Now normally I wouldn’t support drug dealing, but I don’t see Patricia as a drug dealer. She is dispensing herbal remedies. She grows her own high grade cannabis and then bakes pies and cakes. She doesn’t do it to get high – she does it because she is old and suffers from aches and depression. The pain is the result of a car crash, and a family tragedy caused the depression. Well, she used to suffer, but doesn’t any more.
She uses cannabis because it doesn’t have any side effects. Chemical remedies invariably do. Anyone is welcome to drop in and share a slice of chocolate cake or a plate of soup or casserole. Apparently there is quite a queue of old folk.
She is not harming anyone. In fact she is doing a lot of good. No-one is complaining about her. She is widely loved and respected. But they keep arresting her.
She stood for election once under the Legalise Cannabis banner. Unfortunately she only got .7% of the vote. Presumably her supporters were either too old or too stoned to get to the polling station. If she moved here, I’d vote for her. And I’m sure a lot of others would too.
There is life in us Grandads and Grannys yet.
Yesterday, Carlisle Crown Court ordered her to carry out 250 hours’ unpaid work. I hope she does her sentence in the kitchens of the local Old Folk’s Home.
She’s great! I saw her in a documentary a few weeks ago, very well spoken and informed. I love how people make such a huge deal out of cannabis, yet we do nothing about the booze which is more dangerous, legal and killing people daily. It’s a waste of government resources and taxpayer money for marijuana to be criminalized. They should think about the tax profits if it was legal! Perhaps you could put that on your campaign platform Grandad!
Well, cannabis does have one side effect – the whole ‘getting high‘ thing, but I suppose she’s doing it for medicinal purposes and not to make money out of young people.
So when can we expect to see you or Herself making up a batch of LSD buns or MDMA cakes?
I completely agree, Deborah. Booze wrecks lives, through alcoholism, drunken driving, spouse battering, street fights – the list is a long one.
I have yet to see anyone get violent after a quick toke. And there is no hangover!
Apart from recreational use, cannabis has many medicinal properties which would be of enormous benefit to many. This is widely recognised by the medical community.
I cannot think of a single argument that makes cannabis more dangerous than alcohol. Yet one is criminalised, and the other is advertised.
It is at the top of my list!
Dario – if a doctor prescribes me a pain relief medicine, where the only side effect is that I’m going to feel good, am I going to complain?
She has never made a penny out of her cannabis. She has written a book or two, but that is about it. She does it purely for health reasons. And I very much doubt she would give any to a young person, unless they had genuine medical reasons. She is a true altruist.
I’m quite a dab hand at the cooking myself. One of my many talents.
😉
I just read further on this topic and saw that she uses tiny amounts of cannabis in her cooking – not enough to get stoned, even if she wanted to. Her punishment, therefore, is completely unjust, even if cannabis is illegal.
Of course it is unjust. It is the legal system gone haywire. It is using the law as a battering ram rather than a guidance.
The same applies in this country. If I smoke tea leaves in the privacy of my own home, I’m fine [though the taste is foul]. If I do the same with cannabis, I can be arrested. Where is the logic there?
As you pointed out, cannabis is potentially less harmful than alcohol, and if it were legalised, I think it would be a good money spinner for the Government, who would have even more impetus to destroy those bastard drug rings.
Of course my ever-knowledgable mother disagrees with this – though Holland doesn’t seem to be too badly off for it.
If it were legalised it would remove the underground market, and cut off a major part of the dealers trade. Of course the government would whack a massive tax on it [bastards] but at least it could be controlled.
Of course you’ll always get the moaners who say it “leads on to harder drugs”, to which I say alcohol leads to death and destruction. Use both in moderation. Like everything else in life.
Grandad, cigarettes are legal and is responsible for more deaths and medical treatment that cost taxpayers a bundle of money. When i was being treated for depression the meds they gave me had so many side effect i threw them away,and enjoy a few tokes a day.Just need to give up my two packs a day and my 12 pack of beer habit.
Saw her on a BBC4 docu a few weeks ago. Lovely woman.
Problem here is, alcohol’s an even bigger money-spinner. And opening pubs gets votes.
@popeye – exactly. Medication gives side effects, which require more medication and so on. I could do with a big fat doobie right now.
@Pecker – She is a lovely woman. A real Granny.
And don’t forget, the pubs here are closing at the rate of one a day. So the government might have to diversify….
😀 Ah, Ming the Merciless, tiocfaidh do lá…
I could do with a big fat doobie right now.
You really were a genuine Sixties man so!
Roll on the day, Pecker. You and me wandering along in a blue haze and everybody happeeee 🙂
Jaybus, Dario! How many times do I have to say it? I wasn’t at Woodstock though. Happy days…