Advertisement

79-year-old Swedish woman jailed for using cannabis to treat pain

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
79-year-old Swedish woman jailed for using cannabis to treat pain
File photo: Johanna Norin/TT

An elderly woman has been sentenced to four months in prison for drug offences in the Swedish town of Gävle, local newspaper Gefle Dagblad reported on Monday.

Advertisement

The 79-year-old woman said she self-medicated with cannabis and amphetamines to control her pain. 
 
The elderly woman admitted that the roughly 90 grammes of amphetamines and 70 grammes of cannabis found in her Gävle home were hers. She said she uses the drugs because they are necessary to alleviate her chronic hip pain. 
 
“It hurts so damn bad all the time but when I smoke weed it gets better,” she told Gefle Dagblad back in November. 
 
The four-month sentence is in line with Sweden’s long-standing zero-tolerance drugs policy, which makes no distinction between "hard" and "soft" drugs. 
 
 
According to court documents seen by The Local, the woman could have been sentenced to six months but was given a lighter sentence because of her advanced age. 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also