Patricia Trabam

It's not often I get to feel proud of 'being British', but this 68-year-old granny has this week managed to do just that....allbeit temporarily.

Patricia was again convicted of possessing cannabis last week, in breach of a 6-month suspended jail sentence for possession and intent to supply, dished out in 2005. Today she was spared a jail sentence but handed 250 hours of community service.

This woman takes cannabis to alleviate constant and intense pain in her back and neck. Patricia also states she has suffered from depression since losing her teenage son in 1975. Her cannabis self-medication relieves her of these symptoms, without the nasty side-effects of costly pharmaceuticals.

Who exactly is Patricia harming? Why doesn't she have the right to cultivate and consume a plant that is clearly so beneficial to her? Why hasn't the UK legal system followed the suit of so many other countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy to name a few) and decriminalised the growth and consumption of cannabis in ones own home?

You can watch the 3-min BBC report on the case of this endearing woman below.