MS man's home raided
(From The Orcadian dated October 4, 2001)

Outspoken cannabis user Bill Reeve with Biz Ivol of South Ronaldsay and Clare Hodges, a founder member of the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics.

A second Multiple Sclerosis sufferer’s home has been raided by Orkney police.

Mr Bill Reeve from Great Auk in Burray has followed in the footsteps of his friend and MS sufferer Mrs Biz Ivol who was raided by police at the beginning of August.

The couple have both been outspoken in their views on cannabis use and readily admit giving cannabis, cannabis seeds and cannabis chocolates to others with the disease.

Mr Reeve was initially out when police arrived at his home on Sunday. However, according to him they walked around the garden and saw a cannabis plant in the greenhouse. The officers left and returned later with a search warrant, Mr Reeve said.

The 48-year-old has lived with MS for more than 15 years and has been wheelchair-bound since 1990. He finds it increasingly difficult to speak but does have the use of his left arm, which gives a degree of independence.

Mr Reeve claimed police officers told him they had initially been going to see him over Mrs Ivol’s alleged activities.

Several items were taken from her house under the Misuse of Drugs Act following the August raid. She has not been charged to date.

Mr Reeve said: “I stated that my views were well known, that I made no secret of them and that they could read them in The Orcadian.”

He stressed that he did not feel the police had carried out a raid but a “visitation” at his home.

“The term raid should not be used as this brings to mind breaking down doors and police brutality and throughout the visitation the police were very civil to me. I sympathise with their unenviable situation – their job is to enforce the law as it now stands,” he said.

It was only in 1999 that Mr Reeve, who relies heavily on carers, discovered cannabis reduced his muscle spasms and ensured him a good night’s sleep.

The visit did not come as a complete surprise, he said.

Kirkwall police confirmed they had searched a property in Burray under a warrant issued in terms of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

A police spokesman said: “I can confirm that following inquiries a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act was executed in Burray on Sunday and inquiries are continuing.”

Despite the raid on Biz Ivol’s home two months ago, she is still waiting to see whether or not she will be charged.

On Mr Reeve’s visit she commented, “It has really got him going again. He has been very lethargic over the past few weeks – this has given him a new lease of life.”

In December, 1997, she was admonished at Kirkwall Sheriff Court after admitting growing 27 cannabis plants to relieve the pain of MS. The 53-year-old says it is the only thing that alleviates the symptoms and stops the muscle spasms.

She said that the stress caused as a result of the raid had led to a deterioration in her condition, and she ended up in a wheelchair for a time.

Despite this, she has vowed to continue her fight for the legalisation of the drug and accepts that the events which led to the police raid were of her own doing.

Mrs Ivol and Mr Reeve have worked together on several projects to highlight their plight. They put together an information leaflet detailing how to get hold of cannabis and make batches of cannabis chocolates to send free-of-charge to fellow sufferers – with a doctor’s certificate.

‘Companies’ will help pass cannabis tips to sufferers around the world

Bill Reeve will soon be able to pass on a wealth of information about cannabis to MS sufferers around the world.

The outspoken campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis has registered three cannabis-named companies – Cannabis Foods Ltd, Cannabis Healthfoods Ltd and Cannabis Wholefoods Ltd.

They will detail how to get hold of cannabis, cannabis chocolate and recipes.

He claims this is the first time Companies House, based in Cardiff who register limited companies, has allowed a company to include the name ‘cannabis’.

He does not plan to trade through them, but is in the process of setting up a website which will detail the information.

The 48-year-old from Burray was actually raided by police on Sunday, but he is determined to carry on fighting for the legalisation of cannabis, alongside his friend and fellow MS sufferer Biz Ivol from South Ronaldsay.

Police confirmed that they had searched a property in Burray on Sunday under the Misuse of Drugs Act and that inquiries are continuing.

Mr Reeve has lived with MS for more than 15 years, is confined to a wheelchair and has poor speech.

“The companies will not trade as such, they will be a source of information i.e. chocolate suppliers, medicinal cannabis suppliers, cannabis chocolate sample suppliers, recipes, etc, etc,” he said.

“This will be through the website www.cannabishealthfoods.co.uk which is under construction.”

Mr Reeve paid £110 to register each of the companies.

“The companies were bought partly to stop others from profiting from the name and partly to start the age of cannabis legislation on the right note.”

He added: “Cannabis has a way of helping people to help themselves, not as a source for the food industry, alcohol industry or pharmaceutical industries.”

He claims the Belgium Embassy have been told of his work and are “extremely helpful”.

“I am in contact with Belgium cooking chocolate suppliers. I’m learning the importance of ‘tempering chocolate’ (maximum temperature that the chocolate can be heated to to get the maximum effect).”

Mrs Ivol caught the attention of the media in August when she admitted sending supplies of cannabis chocolate to fellow MS sufferers. She was subsequently raided by the local police, who took away several items for analysis.

Two months on she is still waiting to see whether or not she will be charged.

The couple have also worked together to produce an information leaflet about cannabis which has been in demand ever since.

A spokesman from Companies House said: “Cannabis has never been a restricted word, but if it was misleading we would not have allowed it.”

She confirmed that three companies had registered recently and that previously they did not have any other cannabis-named companies.