Nimbin man brings marijuana plant to court

[freddie]

Nimbin man brings marijuana to court

Christine Kellett | August 23, 2007 - 1:09PM

 

A diasbled pensioner who allegedly tried to take a marijuana plant into a Brisbane courthouse to use as evidence in his drugs case has accused authorities of denying him natural justice.

 

Peter Till, 39, of Nimbin on the far north coast of New South Wales, was charged after putting the 90cm-tall plant through an x-ray machine at the entrance to the Brisbane Magistrates Court on January 8.

 

Security staff seized the plant, which was seen poking out of the top of a stock feed bag, before calling police.

 

Till was taken into custody and charged with the unlawful possession a dangerous drug.

 

At his trial this morning, Till, who has pleaded not guilty and is representing himself, argued he had simply exercised his legal right to defend himself by bringing the cannabis to court as evidence in an unrelated matter.

 

"I'm entitled to natural justice as far as I know," Till said.

 

"Like the police ... I'm allowed to bring my evidence.

 

"I have a legal right to tell the judiciary they are wrong."

 

In a passionate submission to the court, a dreadlocked and barefoot Till also accused police of lying and being heavy handed in their decision to lock him in the Brisbane Watchhouse following his arrest.

 

"I stand out a bit. That's why I get discriminated against."

 

He is expected to argue later today that he uses the drug for pain relief and medicinal purposes.

 

The hearing continues.

 

from www.brisbanetimes.com.au

[Ozzy420]

Be interesting to see how this turns out...

[Beans]

That poor, poor man

 

I wish him the best of luck!

 

Edit: I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of this bloke too, haha.

Edited August 23, 2007 by Beans

[WantDaChronic]

That poor, poor man

yeah no kidding, he couldnt even afford a pair of shoes

In a passionate submission to the court, a dreadlocked and barefoot Till also accused police of lying and being heavy handed in their decision to lock him in the Brisbane Watchhouse following his arrest.

 

in all seriousness though, you have to be retarded to think you can take a marijuana plant to a court house and not get arrested although they only grow the pot of the old days up in nimbin, you know, real hippy weed i suppose since he was charged with the unlawful possession a dangerous drug he could argue otherwise

[Chato]

lmfao wdc

 

good on him for having the balls to take some action.

 

peace

c

[Chato]

It gets better an better, i'm surprised that his testimony is being printed though.

 

A MAN charged with taking a marijuana plant into a Brisbane court won an adjournment when he complained of a headache which required treatment - with cannabis.

Peter Till, 39, of Nimbin in northern NSW, told the Brisbane Magistrates Court he uses the drug for pain relief.

 

Till has pleaded not guilty to one count of possession of a dangerous drug after allegedly taking a 90cm-tall plant into the Brisbane Magistrates Court on January 8, 2007.

 

Till claims his decision to take the plant into the court complex was not unlawful as he was planning to tender it as evidence in an unrelated court matter.

 

However, the crown said current Queensland legislation forbade him from doing so.

 

The court heard Till used a yellow sack to carry the plant into the court complex, and that it was discovered and seized by security guards after he put it on the security x-ray machine's conveyor belt.

 

He was arrested later that afternoon.

 

A barefoot and dreadlocked Till, who represented himself, told the court he was on a disability pension and suffered back and hand pain, as well as headaches resulting from an accident where a piece of wire pierced his eye.

 

He told the court he had tried many types of prescription drugs to ease the pain, but cannabis was the only thing that worked.

 

"I absolutely and totally, utterly know I'm not doing anything wrong, because to turn around and make someone a criminal because of pain relief is wrong," he told the court.

 

Magistrate Zac Sarra acknowledged cannabis was valued in some cultures for its medicinal properties but said Till's behaviour was still wrong in the eyes of Queensland's legislation.

 

"The law in Queensland says that it is an offence to possess a dangerous drug and cannabis sativa is considered a dangerous drug," he said.

 

"So it doesn't really matter what our thoughts or opinions are."

 

After a short adjournment late this afternoon Till declared he could no longer answer questions from the prosecution as his brain was "fried" and had turned to "mush" due to a headache.

 

Asked by Mr Sarra how he usually treated headaches, Till replied:"To be honest, I usually take cannabis."

 

The matter was adjourned until September 28

 

Link

 

peace

c

[Indycar]

This is a good example of where the law is an ass, and reading between the lines. I get the impression the residing judge thinks so to.

 

When Mr Till first got done (if i call correctly), he was tokin' on a joint in King George Square, where the fuzz nabbed him, and when he fronted up to court for that charge he bought along the plant as evidence. Some may think Mr Till is a dickhead for doing so, but i can see his angle.

 

I'd imagine he was planning on using the plant as evidence, as the original charge that they would've had him on was probably "possession of a dangerous drug". Which anyone with a reasonable amount of brain matter would know, it's no more than plant matter (dried or living).

 

To be honest, i believe Mr Till has more than a fair argument for the charge that he is up against. Simply for the way Qld courts and legislation refers to cannabis sativa as a "dangerous drug" in writing.

 

If i end up going down again, i will never plead guilty to a charge possession of a dangerous drug. But i would probably plead guilty to possession of cannabis sativa. It's all in the wording, and knowledge of cannabis i have learnt for the last 20 odd years, tells me cannabis is less harmful than aspirin.

 

[pipeman]

I respect the fact he's taking a stand and doing something that probably I wouldn't have the guts to do. But I don't agree with this argument of its not dangerous cause it just a plant. Some of the most lethal poisons known to us come from plants. The "its natural" argument is weak and easily shot down, and therefore better off not used IMO.

[Indycar]

Quite true pipe, but there's no legislation making those other plants illegal to grow. These laws were written up in regards to cannabis alone.

 

Lil' old Mrs Johnson can grow datura which is quite toxic and won't get her door kicked in. But a personal grower can go a row and have his life turned upside down, depending on the outcome through the courts.

 

Geez, a bloke doesn't even need to grow anything. I could go to a supermarket and purchase 100's of products and use them in a inappropriate manner that would be harmful to me. So the argument isn't as flawed as you tend to like to believe pipe, IMO.

[Al B. Fuct]

I thought Till's notion that since police are permitted to possess cannabis as evidence for presentation, so should he, was quite novel. Comes from a perspective of putting the power of police and govt in its place. I do like the way he thinks, but he's going to go to jail for a while regardless. He's inherently right and is going to suffer for saying so- it's called oppression.