Imagine one day sitting at your home, enjoying a lazy afternoon when you get a knock on the door. You get up, walk to answer only to find a police officer outside. You peak some more and find that there’s a whole crew of them.
Immediately, your heart sinks because in the back you have about 30-cannabis plants and roughly 1-kilo of weed on you. You know you’re fucked because it’s illegal where you are.
Now imagine all of this happening, getting arrested and potentially serving years in prison – only for the government to drop the charges and let you go because thousands of people came and spoke up in your favor.
This is exactly what happened to Andrew Baines, a 46-year old father of two. Leafie – a cannabis publication from the UK Reported;
Cannabis patient Andrew Baines was caught by police with almost a kilo of cannabis and 30 cannabis plants at his home in January 2020. He was charged with both supply and production of a class B drug under the Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971, which could have seen him serve a maximum of 30 years to life in prison. Andrew had been using his qualifications in cannabis science to illegally supply patients with medicine to treat cancer and other life-changing illnesses, maintaining detailed patient records and has treated thousands of people in need without taking any money for his services.
In a landmark ruling, the Crown Prosecution Service took into account the wide outpouring of support and chose not to pursue a prison sentence, despite an open admission of guilt and a huge amount of evidence. Instead, Andrew was given a 6-month community order, the lowest punishment possible. Giving her ruling at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court, deputy district judge Geraldine Kelly said: “If the law was different, Mr Baines would have been applauded, not punished. I take the view that a community order is justified in this case, not because of you, but because of the message we must send.” - Leafie
In this case, even the Judge was on the side of the Baines.
Now it’s important to note that Baines grew and administered cannabis to people who were sick and dying. He wasn’t selling cannabis for profit. Even the official “CanCard” founder voiced his support for what happened.
Carly Barton, founder of Cancard, who supported the case said: “I salute the CPS and the CPJ in this case who made the fair decision not to imprison Andrew for providing access to life-changing medicine for people in need. Andrew has improved the lives of thousands of people who were sent home to die. The alternative for those people was to access these medicines via the criminal market which pours money into county lines and causes harm. Experts like Andrew are few and far between. Currently they are bridging the gap that our healthcare system is not providing. Now we need to look at better access schemes so that those who need it can access cannabis, and, so that our experts, like Andrew, are able to utilise their specialisms legally. Currently our most knowledgeable scientists are operating underground and this makes no sense.” – Leafie
Cancard is the official medical marijuana program in the UK and has about 50,000 members.
Andrew Baines did something that most “dealers” don’t…keep records. These detailed records and public outcry to not sentence the man to prison for 30-years ultimately landed him with 6-months of community service and made the whole cannabis debacle in the UK a public event.
The Tide has shifted…only the dinosaurs remain
The fact of the matter is that people have come to realize that cannabis is a powerful medicine and is in many cases the last resort for some patients. If the government sanctioned drugs do a bad job at mitigating side effects or symptoms of a particular disease – then it should be legal to pursue any other medium, even if it’s technically illegal.
However, while these dinosaurs play “catchup” with the rest of the public, we can claim a victory for cannabis activism everywhere in the case of Baines. Not only does it show that when enough people come together to voice their opposition of sending someone who risked their liberty to help others to prison – the government has very little recourse than to support the mob.
This is something we should all take to heart.
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If you’re growing for medical patients keep a strict record of their progress
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If your medical marijuana supplier is busted by the authorities – RALLY!
It’s time that we come together and voice our opposition to these draconian laws in unison. It’s time that no more activist gets sentenced to jail for a plant that is less harmful than alcohol.
Let’s all raise a joint for Baines…the man who dodged prison because he was a grade A “Good dude!”
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