Medicinal cannabis supplier and advocate Jenny Hallam spared conviction and jail
Medicinal cannabis supplier Jenny Hallam has been spared all penalty for her illegal pain-relief business, with a court saying she was driven not by profit but a “genuine compassion” for others.
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A “resilient, resourceful and independent” woman who “finetuned” cannabis oil to help herself and others overcome chronic pain has been spared all penalty by a court.
Jenny Lee Hallam wept as, on Thursday, the District Court released her on a two-year, $1000 good behaviour bond – and without a drug-offending conviction.
Judge Rauf Soulio dubbed Hallam’s case “exceptional”, saying her longtime production and supply of cannabis oil came not from criminal intent but the purest of motives.
“It’s true you had no proper scientific, medical or clinical expertise – however, it’s also clear there was no commercial element to your offending,” he said.
“Rather, you were making a loss and expending funds to make these products and give them away to people suffering chronic conditions, motivated by genuine compassion.
“I want to make it clear that this is not a licence to produce unregulated medicinal cannabis again.”
Outside court, Hallam said she felt “a massive relief” at the end of her nearly three-year ordeal, and vowed to continue advocating for accessible, legal medicinal cannabis.
“I didn’t want to break the law, I did not mean to break the law, but sometimes desperate people will do desperate things and I was just trying to save their lives,” she said.
“All I ever wanted was for people to be happy and well … at the moment, people are miserable, dying and watching those they love die or suffer.
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“To our government, I say: Let people live, let people have quality of life, let people have medicinal cannabis.”
Hallam, 47, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled drug for supply and manufacturing a controlled drug, and faced a maximum 10-year prison term.
The charges arose from a 2017 police raid of her home at Hillier, north of Gawler, which seized 35 plastic syringes and 212 capsules of cannabis oil.
Officers also found equipment needed to manufacture the oil, as well as cannabis-infused coconut oil.
Hallam, who advocates the use of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain relief, accused prosecutors of “dragging out” her case before electing to plead guilty.
Government-regulated use of cannabis began in November 2017.
Last month, Hallam’s counsel asked she be spared jail saying so she could “share the joy” of the drug as a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit Australian Cannabis University.
In sentencing on Thursday, Judge Soulio said Hallam had endured many traumas, including childhood neglect and multiple car crash injuries, during her life.
She had turned to cannabis oil after years of addiction to prescription painkillers and antidepressants, including weekly injections, and noted immediate improvement.
When approached by other sufferers of chronic pain, she had provided them with oil without charge – but also without “due diligence” to ensure the veracity of their claims.
“Medicinal cannabis can be unaffordable … obtaining access is a long and difficult process,” he said.
Judge Soulio quoted numerous testimonials, from Hallam’s clients and medical experts, about the “sometimes miraculous” effects of her products.
He said many patients noted currently-available medicinal cannabis did not treat their symptoms as effectively as Hallam’s products.
Hallam’s GP, he said, had dubbed her “a resilient, resourceful and independent person” who had “finetuned” her product to increase efficiency and decrease addictiveness.
Judge Soulio said the appropriate course was to impose a bond, and only impose a sentence on Hallam if she breached it.
Outside court, Hallam was asked if she would “do it again” and replied: “Not illegally, no.”
She offered her assistance and know-how “to anyone who wants it”, saying GPs were not adequately trained as to the benefits of cannabis.
“I’m sorry that I wasted the court’s time … it’s a waste of the court’s time, and of police’s time, to prosecute people using cannabis for medicinal purposes,” she said.
“That is not what the law is supposed to be about … that is not justice.”