---<br /> <br /> An unrepentant grandmother who cooked cannabis cakes, soups and casseroles <br /> for neighbours and friends escaped jail yesterday after a judge told her <br /> that he did not want to make her a martyr.<br /> <br /> Patricia Tabram, a 66-year-old who has developed recipes for chicken, leek <br /> and cannabis pies and cannabis curry since her arrest last summer, said she <br /> would continue to take the drug for medicinal reasons, although she would <br /> not supply it to others.<br /> <br /> "It's far better than any tablets you can get from the doctor," she said as <br /> she left Newcastle Crown court for her remote bungalow in the <br /> Northumberland countryside. She will also continue negotiations about <br /> publishing her biographical cookbook Grandma Eats Cannabis.<br /> <br /> Mrs Tabram, who has two children and has led "an eventful life" according <br /> to her legal team, was raided in May last year by police who found 8.5oz <br /> (242g) of potent "skunk" cannabis worth ukp854 in her fridge and on her <br /> bedside table. They also discovered a set of scales, wraps for taking the <br /> drug and 31 cannabis plants in the loft plus one on her hall table.<br /> <br /> "Patricia became involved in cannabis in February 2004 as a result of <br /> suffering physical symptoms," Stuart Graham, prosecuting, told the court as <br /> Mrs Tabram sat quietly wearing her spectacles and a black cardigan and <br /> pearl necklace. "Somebody approached her and said cannabis might help her <br /> with her difficulties."<br /> <br /> She admitted possessing the drug with intent to supply at a hearing in <br /> December which was told how she made regular visits to the Byker district <br /> of Newcastle before making arrangements for deliveries as large as a <br /> "nine-bar" from a dealer in Hexham, nearer to her home.<br /> <br /> Carl Gumsley, defending, told yesterday's hearing: "She maintains she will <br /> continue taking cannabis and I do not suggest to the court that she has <br /> given it up. But notwithstanding her own views, she will not supply it to <br /> any other person."<br /> <br /> Mrs Tabram has become a minor celebrity since her arrest, but Mr Gumsley <br /> said that she had suffered periods of mental illness as well as the <br /> physical ailments which prompted her experiment with drugs.<br /> <br /> Judge David Hodson, the recorder of Newcastle, said the offence was so <br /> serious that only a jail sentence was appropriate, but he had no intention <br /> of making her a martyr.<br /> <br /> Sentencing her to six months' jail suspended for two years, he said: <br /> "People in this part of the world cannot fail to have noticed that you have <br /> been caught up in a media circus. It might be that you have been trying to <br /> tempt the courts into making a martyr of you. I am not going to do this.<br /> <br /> "This offence stems from your belief of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. <br /> It is not for me to make any judgment on the debate, which I acknowledge. <br /> The fact remains that it is an offence to possess cannabis with an intent <br /> to supply."<br /> <br /> He warned Mrs Tabram that any repeat of the offence would lead to her <br /> serving the six months, and also ordered her to pay ukp750 legal costs and <br /> surrender her cannabis.<br /> <br /> She complained after the hearing: "I'm a free woman, but fining me so much <br /> money - I am a pensioner and I get a little over ukp100 a week."<br /> <br /> Mrs Tabram said that she had not supplied anyone else with the drug since <br /> her arrest and added: "I only got cannabis once for my friends who have <br /> similar medical problems. Now a young man has arranged for it to be <br /> delivered to their doors."<br /> <br /> Northumbria police questioned Mrs Tabram's image as a cosy ex-chef doing a <br /> handful of doddery friends a good turn. A statement said: "The set-up at <br /> her home bore all the hallmarks of any sophisticated drug dealer. While it <br /> was not proven to whom she intended to supply the cannabis, we believe she <br /> is a drug dealer in the traditional sense."<br /> <br /> <br />Aurora Indica |  B52 |  Big Bud |  California Orange Bud |  Citral |  Four Way |  Haze |  Hindu Kush |  Indoor Mix |  Jock Horror |  K2 |  Maroc x Afghan |  Northern Light x Big Bud |  Northern Light x Haze |  Northern Light x Shiva |  Shiva |  Skunk #1 |  Skunk Red Hair |  Skunk Special |  Papaya |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |  Afghan |  Master Kush |  Northern Light |  Super Skunk |  Top 44 |  Durban Poison |  Early Bud |  Early Girl |  Early Misty |  Early Special |  Hawaii x Maui Waui |  Hawaii x Skunk #1 |  Hollands Hope |  KC 33 x Master Kush |  Mixed Sativa |  New Purple Power |  Swazi |  Swiss Miss |  Northern Bright |  Snow White (fem.) |  Supergirl |  Venus |  Wonder Woman |  Kaya |  PPP (fem.) |  Medusa |  Blue Mystic |  Chrystal |  Ice |  Misty |  PPP |  White Widow |  Nirvana Special |  White Rhino |  Snow White |  AK-48 |  Bubblelicious |  Silver Pearl |  Haze |  Jock Horror |  Northern Light x Haze |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |