Articles - Legal Foundations (LAWS110)

No conviction for Coast’s ‘green fairy’

• The Press 25 Feb 2019 Joanne Carroll [email protected]

John Patrick

A West Coast man has been discharged without conviction for supplying medicinal cannabis to thousands of sick people.

John Robert Patrick was elated after his appearance in the Greymouth District Court on Friday. He is known as a ‘‘green fairy’’, a term used to describe cannabis growers and suppliers who network to help patients on compassionate grounds.

Judge Jane Farish said she would discharge Patrick without conviction and wished him well to become a registered supplier of medicinal cannabis.

Patrick was charged with cultivating cannabis, producing cannabis, possession of cannabis and a representative charge of supplying cannabis.

The police summary of facts says Patrick went to the Greymouth Post Shop and posted two packages on July 2017.

The packages contained three 50-gram tubs of a balm made with cannabis and coconut oil.

Post Shop staff noticed the distinct smell of cannabis emanating from the packages and contacted police.

Patrick posted four more packages on August 8, 2017.

All of the packages were

seized by police, who then searched Patrick’s Barrytown home in October 2017 and found 931g of dried cannabis, 53 plants and 14 tubs of cannabis balm.

Patrick showed police a cupboard in his bedroom where he kept ‘‘mother plants and clones’’, and a room that was dedicated to growing cannabis.

‘‘The defendant stated that he had used alcohol and drugs a lot in his younger days but in 1994 became sober and trained as a drug and alcohol counsellor. After struggling with pain from a broken back he researched into the use of marijuana and started using it for pain relief,’’ the summary of facts says.

‘‘He felt the need to help other people as cannabis had helped him. He has been productive at this level for about two years and is doing it to help people as he believes it is his purpose in life.’’

Some of the plants found had low THC content. Others had high THC content and were used for cancer sufferers.

‘‘He doesn’t sell it but does accept a koha, which pays for the power and for the plant food.

‘‘He believes it is God’s will because of the way it balances out and it all works out,’’ the summary says.

He told police patients rubbed the balm on their skin or took it as a suppository. It was useful for treating arthritis and did not make people high.

Patrick said he was relieved about the outcome.

Comments - Law

What concept is being used in each case? Morals

Shows law is defined by its function not form. A formal moral concept of law

This concept of law is a court case based on criminal charges for drugs.

There is a high degree of morals in this case where the judge has decided that the defendant/accused John Patrick should not be convicted because of ethics. This shows that morals can sway a case in law. Even though Patrick was growing and selling cannabis illegally he was doing this to help sick people who were dying. Thus, Judge Jane Farish has given Patrick a second chance to become a registered supplier of medicinal cannabis. As well as this, in the case Patricks past history was looked into as part of the case especially how he use to use drugs in order to determine the outcome. The fact Patrick was a drug and alcohol counsellor showed that he contributed to the community. Thus, this was a case when the law was overlooked in terms of morals and ethics. This shows the connection between the concept of law and the concept of morality. This shows that it is acceptable for cannabis to be used to help the sick in New Zealand so due to social conception this influences the law. However this may be because of the judges sectional interest and personal belief in her interpretation of the law that she decided not to charge him because she views the ethical side of John Patricks actions even though they were illegal. This will set a precedent for other cases. This also shows legal ethics as the judge was trying to make the case for the greater good and to make a moral decision

Serial rapist Malcolm Rewa guilty of murdering Susan Burdett in 1992

By:Sam Hurley

New Zealand Herald court reporter.

[email protected]@SamuelPHurley

One of New Zealand's most infamous murder cases - which spanned 27 years, five trials and saw an innocent man locked away for two decades - has finally returned a verdict described as "justice merged with truth".

Malcolm Rewa was yesterdayfound guilty of murdering Susan Burdettin her South Auckland home in March 1992.

It was the third murder trial for the serial rapist, who today turns 66, but this time a jury returned a unanimous decision.

However, Rewa has raised concerns about how quickly the jury returned its verdict - prompting speculation over a potential appeal.

Rewa's two previous trials in 1998 resulted in both juries being unable to reach a conclusion. Rewa was, however, convicted of Burdett's rape.

The jury yesterday took just under four hours - including a lunch break - to reach their decision after hearing two weeks of evidence in the High Court at Auckland.

It was a moment in New Zealand's judicial history not lost on those in the courtroom, which included private investigator Tim McKinnel.

Along with lawyers and journalists, including theWeekend Herald's Phil Taylor, McKinnel led the pursuit against one of this country's great injustices - the prosecution of Teina Pora.

When just 17 years old, Pora was arrested and later twice wrongly convicted for killing the 39-year-old accounts clerk.

He spent 22 years in prison before the Privy Council in London quashed his conviction in 2015. He has since received a Government apology and $3.5 million in compensation.

A 1998 stay of the murder charge against Rewa was lifted in 2017, allowing this month's trial to proceed.

Tim McKinnel told media the guilty verdict marked a very important day for Teina Pora. Photo / Jason Oxenham

McKinnel described yesterday's guilty verdict as "justice...