Cancer survivor convicted of growing cannabis says he ‘wouldn’t live’ without the drug.

Clare man James Lawrence was prescribed the highly addictive opioid Oxycontin to ease his pain during six horrible months of chemotherapy after having half of his bowel removed.

But after losing 14 pounds in nine days, James dropped his prescription – convinced the combination of the two would kill him.

“I thought I was dying,” James said.

“I honestly thought that’s it for me … so I knew I had to do something. And I did. I did something proactive. i went online

“I started reading and all these American doctors were talking about the health benefits of marijuana for people who are undergoing chemotherapy.

“But how could I afford to buy it? I’m disabled so I couldn’t try to buy it from criminals.

“So I did what I thought was necessary.

“I’m a pretty good gardener – I have vegetable gardens. So I found out how they grow it.

“And I did. It was only two or three plants and it was just for me. I used them to make tea.”

James said the impact on his health was almost immediate.

“Within two to three days I recovered,” he said. “I felt better. I ate, I slept better.

“It really is a miracle cure, and I’m not just saying that. I truly believe it saved my life.”

Speaking about the pain he suffered, James said: “You say you rate pain on a scale of one to 10 – well, there were times when that was a 10 for me.

“It was pure agony.”

On the subject of Oxycontin, which he was prescribed, James said it was extremely effective at battling pain, but the combination of the drug and chemotherapy was just too much for him.

“You took a pill and 15 minutes later you weren’t in pain,” James said.

“But that’s how I felt like I couldn’t take it.

“Have you ever woken up after a night out feeling really sick and just wanted to go back to sleep but you can’t?

“I had that feeling 24 hours a day for six long months. I didn’t know people could suffer so much. I took Oxycontin every three hours.

“But I’m a happy person, I don’t get addicted to things. And I could give it up.”

James grew his three cannabis plants in his attic under a sodium lamp – confident that it was doing no harm while giving him a second life.

“I stayed with the (cannabis) tea for a while, but I didn’t know if the pain was going to come back or not,” he said.

“So I grew the three plants to have some in reserve and then there they are [the gardai] got me

“They knocked on the door and said, ‘We have a search warrant for your house.’ I let her in. I didn’t hide anything and told them exactly what was going on.

“I have to admit they were very nice, they were gentlemen. They never said how they ended up at my door.”

Appearing before Judge Mary Larkin at Kilrush District Court last week, James pleaded guilty to growing cannabis without a license at his home on July 3, 2021. He was convicted and fined 100 euros.

But James makes no apologies for his actions and calls for the law to be reviewed when it comes to cannabis and medical necessity.

“I don’t regret it,” he said.

“It [cannabis] alleviates suffering, and surely anything that alleviates suffering is a good thing?

“Oxycontin is legal and look at the damage it has done in America. Tens of thousands of people became addicted.

“If I had the opportunity to go and get cannabis on prescription, it would have solved all my problems. I didn’t want to break the law, but I had no choice. It saved my life. I am 100 percent sure of that.”