Police won't comment on cannabis chocolate case
(From The Orcadian dated July 26, 2001)

Biz Ivol at home in Herston, South Ronaldsay (Picture Orkney Photographic)

Police have declined to comment on whether an investigation has begun into claims by Orkney MS sufferer Mrs Biz Ivol that she sends packages of cannabis chocolate to fellow users around the UK.

However CID in Kirkwall have asked to speak to The Orcadian reporter Miss Lorraine Shearer, who broke the story in an exclusive interview with Mrs Ivol last week.

Miss Shearer (28) received a phone call from the Kirkwall CID on Monday this week requesting an interview to discuss Mrs Ivol and the claims she made in the story.

"It was requested that I make an appointment to speak to the CID officers about the Biz Ivol story, which I reported in the newspaper last week.

"I do not see what I can add to any investigation, as everything she said to me during the interview was included within the article," said Miss Shearer.

The Orcadian has run several articles over the past couple of years concerning Mrs Ivol and her claims of growing and using cannabis to relieve the painful symptoms of MS.

Mrs Ivol, who is an ardent campaigner for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, makes no secret of the fact she sends out cannabis parcels to fellow sufferers.

The front page piece last week received widespread national press coverage and Mrs Ivol appeared in several newspapers repeating her claims of making cannabis chocolate to pass on to others.

Mrs Ivol (53), from South Ronaldsay, explained that more and more sufferers are taking cannabis chocolate to avoid the cancer risks of smoking the drug.

She and fellow MS sufferer, Mr Bill Reeve, claimed they were being inundated with inquiries about how to make the chocolate.

Orkney procurator fiscal Mr Roderick Urquhart said he could not comment on individual cases other than in court.