DRUG-ACCUSED CLAIMS EXEMPTION TO CHARGES

A wheelchair-bound man caught growing cannabis is claiming his submission
to a parliamentary committee in 1998 on the drug's medicinal uses should
exempt him from prosecution.

Police raided the Christchurch hole of Neville John Yates, 43, on May 29
and found nine plants in a cupboard and about 400g of cannabis bud and leaves.

Yates admitted the cannabis was his and said he used it for medicinal
purposes to deal with the legacy of an accident in his youth that left him
with an amputated limb and head injuries.

Five years ago Yates made a submission to a select committee hearing on the
issue of medicinal cannabis use. At the hearing police made an undertaking
not to prosecute those who publiclly addressed the legal status of cannabis.

In the Christchurch District Court yesterday Yates called for charges of
possession and cultivating cannabis to be dropped. "I find cannabis to be
the best for relieving and alleviating the pain and suffering," he said.

Mild Greens activist Blair Anderson, representing Yates in court as an
untrained advocate, supported his claim of using cannabis medicinally. A
conviction could prevent Yates taking part in a research project on
therapeutic uses of cannabis.

"Neville has a public profile in newspapers and he's represented this issue
publicly, representing countless other people who are also breaking the
law. He's presented to a select committee and the committee says police
should be cognisant (of that) so light can shine on the issue."

Justice of the Peace Merelyn Redstone committed Yates to stand trial,
saying her role was only to assess whether there was sufficient evidence to
take a case to trial.