Free Peter Davy - Timaru District Court - March 16

Free Peter Davy - Timaru District Court - March 16

Written by Julian Crawford

Monday, 14 March 2011 22:30

Cannabis prohibition: "A death sentence for both of us"     A cancer patient who cultivated medical marijuana is vowing to go on hunger-strike after a judge told him to prepare for jail.   Judge Neave reluctantly bailed Peter Davy (51) so that he could make arrangements for his partner, who has advanced multiple sclerosis, to sell her house and move into a rest home. Mr Davy is a 24 hour care-giver for Tracey Perrin (39) who is distraught at the prospect of losing her best friend and being “imprisoned” in an old-folks home. “He was a hanging judge. If I could throw I would have thrown my shoe at him. This will be a death sentence for both of us,” she said. When busted Mr Davy was growing rare varieties of cannabis, sourced in remote locations like Laos, Tibet, Nepal and Thailand, as he was trying to breed a strain specifically to treat Tracey's MS.   He says New Zealand could be leading the world in medical cannabis research but instead police have wiped out many rare genetic lines. Tracey was almost abandoned in court when the Judge Neave threatened Mr Davy with remand. She says that her partner will go through with the hunger-strike because he has Irish blood which makes him bloody minded. She also fear for her own life if sent to a retirement home. "if I go into a home things might get a lot worse, I just dont know,” she said. Mr Davy appears for sentencing the March 16. Peter Davy and his partner Tracey spent 5 hours talking to ALCP about their experiences. Below is a lengthy account of Peter Davy’s life since he developed cancer. Before this time he did not use cannabis and was an IT professional who was married with two children. (Click Read More)   Ten years ago Peter Davy was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor and only survived thanks to an experiment drug, Bromocriptine, that made him vomit continuously. After spending a year of vomiting all day long he discovered on the internet that cannabis could reduce the side effects of Bromocriptine. “When I smoked cannabis I felt good. I felt normal,” he said. For the first time in a year he stopped vomiting was even able to get a job at a "high flying" IT company which operated 70 huge networks in 50 counties Mr Davy had never grown cannabis but because he needed it every day to control symptoms he eventually bought some cheap seeded weed. He planted seedlings and unexpectedly grew "heaps of cannabis" in sand dunes, thanks to a horticultural background. He made the mistake of giving some to an acquaintance. Next thing he knew, patched gang members kicked his door in and took over his house, demanded all the cannabis. The gang members told him he was now growing for them and they gave him a beating because he let his cannabis go to seed. Not knowing what to do, Mr Davy put on a suit and tie and handed himself in to Police, giving them $37,000 worth of cannabis. He was convicted for cannabis cultivation, ending his IT career. The gangsters, "went nuts" and drove him out of town by threatened to burn down the house of anyone who harboured him. All of his possessions were sold by the gang and they threatened to pack rape his daughter if he went to the police. With nowhere to sleep or eat, he went to see a farmer who owned a remote property. However the farmer turned out to be "best mates" with the gang and once again forced him to work for them. Mr Davy played along in order to try and continue medical cannabis breeding. However things "went real bad" and an attempt was made on his life. He "just walked into the bush" with a .22 rifle and lived there for nine months, evading the gang members. He hunted for food “barefoot and unshaven” and stole from the farm he had been on. The only contact he had with the outside world was with his son who meet him occasionally to supply prescription medications required to control his tumor. The rest of the time he was totally alone in the bush growing cannabis and performing breeding experiments. He also discovered 11 other plantations, belonging to other growers. One day gang members discovered his whereabouts and three attempts were made on his life. His life was spared only because he was “so stoned” that he seemed calm, making his attacker fear he had an accomplice or some other "ace up his selves". After this his cannabis crop was spotted by a low flying plane. From a vantage point he saw a "swat team" of armed police headed in his direction and at the same time a "whole bunch of Maoris" approaching from the other direction. To evade them he walked for 16 hours non-stop to get to a neighboring farm. Once again he handed himself into police and supplied them with photographic evidence of his growing. Police ignored the cannabis but charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm, based on a photo of him posing with an "AK47" on the gang farm. He spent nine weeks with the "most dangerous people in New Zealand" in the maximum security criminally insane unit. After he was released “with nothing" he contacted a member of parliament, as his house was still occupied by gang members. The MP "courageously intervened” in the situation by approaching the gang and asking them to leave the house. As a result the gang members went "ape-shit" and threatened his life. With the clothes he was wearing and $300, he got on a bus and headed to the South Island. He didn’t know anyone and was in a desperate state. For a short while he landed a “dream job” pressing hemp seed oil for a company that "grows hundreds of acres of hemp”. However he didn’t have any cannabis was still extremely stressed, so he decided to start his breeding research again. He heard that the West Coast was more relaxed about cannabis so he headed there with a few seeds he had in his pocket. He got a job on a West Coast dairy farm and began growing cannabis again. He milked the cows at 4am every day and was made to work extremely hard by tough farmers. The farmer’s wife showed him how to make an electric fence while running and carrying all the metal standards. With access to cannabis he came to love his job and became the only person to out perform the owners in the milking shed. The farmers “though they would break him” but soon came to trust him with running the entire farm. However one day he was caught smoking a joint by the farm manager. The manager said “don’t worry I smoke too” and asked to see the crop. The manager was amazed to see 9-10 foot plants and demanded half the harvest. The manager also tried to prevent the plants going to seed but they were pollinated anyway. Many pounds of cannabis were stolen by a female farm worker who was cleaning his room. He also gave many pounds of cannabis to the farm manager. Then a German woofer who wanted his bedroom, discovering the plants and alerted police. Next thing he knew, a helicopter with cameras was hovering overhead and he was arrested. After being charged with cannabis possession and cultivation, Mr Davy was bailed to Ashburton on a suspended sentence. Despite the setbacks Mr Davy was determined to continue trying to breed new medical cannabis stains, a process which took at least five generations of planting. He grew a “toned down” crop of fifty plants, half of which were male, near Ashburton. However this crop was stolen by his landlady’s husband and sold on the West Coast. He later confronted his landlady because he needed cannabis to manage his cancer and improve his performance as a boner at the freezing works. His Landlady showed him a commercial hydroponics growing operation she already had set up. She offered to let him grow indoor cannabis as long as he kept her well supplied. Despite using over 2000W of light he was unsuccessful at growing medicinal cannabis sativa, which was far too big and lanky for an indoor grow. As a last resort he went back to the West Coast to retrieve a large rubbish bin full of compacted cannabis leaf, left over from his earlier grow. By drilling holes in the bottom of the bucket and pouring 40 litres of isopropyl alcohol into it, he was able to collect potent hash oil. He put the hash oil into gelatin caps, allowing him to titrate the dose of cannabis and medicate in front of colleagues. In lest than a year he learnt every job at the freezing works and became the only person to become a qualified butcher in less than a year. He credits his motivation and skill with a sharp knife to his use of cannabis which made him “feel normal”. He had set his wife up with his brother after he was diagnosed with cancer and had not had a partner for seven year due to the onset of impotence, which he controlled with steroids. He meet a girl at a backpackers and he was desperate to make the relationship work. He gave her hash oil caps, which she consumed and sold around the country. His landlady also demanded more and more hash oil for her friends to try. Out of desperation he started charging for his oil caps, hoping it would deter people. However charging only encouraged customers. His girlfriend became increasingly demanding and threatened to tell the police about his activities unless he signed a new sports car into her name. He planned to give her the sports car but she stole it and left him. The next morning there were “police cars and dogs everywhere” who smashed his door open. Police began having a field day as they discovered the indoor growing operation and hash oil production facility. He was sent to Christchurch Men’s prison wearing only a t-shirt all winter. He describes prison as savage and was reluctant to share the traumatic memories. One day after his cell mate was punched Mr Davy approached gang kinpins and told them they had to come thru him if they wanted to harm his cellmate. The gangsters were initially bemused but soon realised that he was “old school” and gave him respect for sticking up for his cell mate. However word got round that Davy had successfully stood up to the gangs and everyone was suddenly out to get him. “It was always the prisoners that tried to befriend” him that then tried to stab or “shank” him. Throughout this time Davy was still battling cancer and had to collect pills at set times He also had no access to cannabis. Due to numerous threats to his life he tried to commit suicide in prison by slitting his wrists. He was discovered and moved to solitary confinement. He refused to leave solitary after this due to the violence in prison. He wrote a letter to an MP saying that “they will kill me in here.” However prison officials opened the letter and moved him to Hilmorton Mental Health unit. His best friend in Hilmorton committed suicide and he became a nervous wreck. After 1 year in custody Davy’s case finally came before a judge. “You are under compulsory mental health until you stop writing to MPs,” said the judge. He served 18 months before being released “totally screwed up”. After this he never left his Christchurch flat except for a quick dash to the shop once a week. He couldn’t get a job but spent a year teaching himself advanced 3D animation at home. At this stage he started communicating with Tracey who he meet before he went to prison. Her health had deteriorated as a result of MS. After his parole period ended he moved in with her and has been with her ever since. He began importing rare seeds from around the world using the internet. At this time he anticipated the Medpot Bill passing into law and the Law commissions recommendation for drug law reform being implemented. Every time he has been arrested he has admitted importing seeds sourced off the internet. He said that any time customs have intercepted his seeds they didn’t bother involving police. He grew some rare varieties over his back fence. However his neighbor called the police who came and arrested Mr Davy. He cooperated with them and admitted ownership. They gave him a light penalty involving alcohol and drug course. However they said they see cannabis users all the time who don’t have any problems with drugs. After this Mr Davy, who admits knowing nothing about the law, thought local police were sweet with cannabis. He says last winter Tracey nearly died and it has been a long time since she has been well around christmas. This christmas they were finally hoping for a good festive season but Peter was busted two day beforehand. He was charged indictably with importation of cannabis seed and was charged with cultivating around 50 plants half of which were male. Police asked him why all his plants looked different from each other and why one plant had turned purple. Mr Davy said that plant breeding science always flies over the head of police. Police also prevented him attending to his partner Tracey while they arrested him. Tracey was almost abandoned in Timaru Court last month when the Judge threatened Mr Davy with remand. She says that her partner will go through the hunger strike because she says his Irish blood makes him very bloody minded. She also fear for her own life if sent to a retirement home. “Stress is very bad for MS patients,” Mr Davy said. He appears for sentencing on the 16th of March.

via alcp.org.nz