Police seize over a kilogram of cannabis from elderly woman with cancer
Ms Oddy said using cannabis has helped with the pain and mental health issues she has suffered with since her cancer diagnosis. (ABC News)
An elderly woman battling cancer has been fined $1,200 after police discovered over a kilogram of cannabis in her home during a welfare check.
Key points:
A Great Southern woman has pleaded guilty to several drug charges
Police seized 1.2 kilograms of cannabis from the woman's property
The plants were used to ease pain and mental health issues
Carole Dawn Oddy, who was diagnosed with cancer six years ago, has been growing cannabis on her property and using it medicinally for the past two years.
Ms Oddy extracts oil from the plants for cooking rather than smoking and said it has been incredibly beneficial in helping with the treatment of pain and mental health issues since her diagnosis.
But on August 25, police were sent to Ms Oddy's house just north of Mt Barker in the Great Southern.
That morning, Ms Oddy went to see her doctor then visited a friend while she waited for the result a blood tests.
Concerned with the test results, Ms Oddy's doctor tried to reach her by phone but was unable to make contact, so he called police and asked police if they could check up on her at home.
When police arrived nobody answered the door, but they noticed a light was on inside.
Concerned for her safety, officers found a spare key and let themselves into the property, where they found the cannabis in jars organised by strain and medicinal effect, as well as a tool used for extracting oil from plants.
Police seized 1.266 kilograms of cannabis, which has an estimated street value of $10–14,000 dollars.
The large quantity of the illegal plant had been grown over two years, and prosecutors did not doubt that the cannabis was solely for personal use.
Ms Oddy appeared in Albany Magistrate Court this week on multiple drug charges.(ABC Great Southern: John Dobson) This week Ms Oddy appeared in Albany magistrate and pleaded guilty to the possession of a prohibited drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Magistrate Dianne Scaddan explained that there are processes she could have used to obtain THC for pain relief legally through her doctor, but Ms Oddy said legal marijuana was unaffordable given her circumstances, and that she preferred to know exactly where her plants came from and how they were grown.
Ms Oddy said she has not used marijuana since she was charged and will be seeking legal methods of pain relief moving forward.
Magistrate Scaddan was empathetic to Ms Oddy's struggles, but told the court that she, like everybody else, was still subject to the law.
The cannabis and implements were ordered to be destroyed, and Ms Oddy will need to pay a $1200 fine as well as attend drug counselling sessions. Originally published here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/cancer-patient-drug-bust/100505256
