photo of cannabis leaves on dark background
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This is absurd: Isle of Man newspapers has reported that a man was arrested, prosecuted, and convicted, for possessing “0.25 grams of cannabis.”

A quarter of a gram is roughly equal to one-sixteenth of a teaspoon of sugar.

This is not an effective use of court, police or taxpayer resources:

The prosecutor told the court that police were at the address of a friend of Cowin on September 18 last year when Cowin arrived and was searched with officers finding 0.25 grams of cannabis, valued at £5.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood said: ’It was a very small amount of cannabis valued using the increased street value the authorities are currently using. Mr Cowin had fallen out with his partner and went to a friend’s address. Three officers jumped out from behind a bush and put him to the ground.

£100 fine for having £5 cannabis

Michael Josem is a long-term consumer advocate, most prominently as a global leader in combating fraud in the online gambling industry. He was in part the inspiration for the 20th Century Fox Movie, Runner Runner, starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake.

Josem has over a decade of experience as a senior business leader working across various high-tech and online industries, and takes action to build a better community. His primary volunteer roles include service for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and Graih, the homelessness charity.