A terminally-ill man in Cambridge in the UK has been let off by a magistrate after admitting to being in posession of cannabis resin and amphetamines.
The man, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2003, was caught in a police raid with £10 worth of amphetamines and £85 worth of cannabis resin - an amount that could only be interpretted as being for personal use.
Indeed, the man claims that he has been using cannabis to dull the physical pain of his illness and amphetamines to combat depression brought about because of the illness.
The magistrate’s dismissal of the charges against him, however, raise quite a few questions about the legitimacy of illicit narcotics.
If a terminally-ill person can be excused for possessing a small amount of narcotics for the purpose of self medication relating to their illness, then why is a healthy person any less capable of making a decision regarding their own use of drugs?
Presumably the answer is because the terminally-ill are going to die soon anyway. But is that answer really good enough?
This ruling raises more questions for the status of illicit drugs in the UK than it really answers.