A 49-year-old man in Yunlin County surnamed Chiang (江) has been handed a 21-month suspended sentence and granted two years’ probation for ordering cannabis products online after reading a claim that they cure cancer.
In October 2015, Chiang’s wife of more than 20 years, surnamed Chang (張), was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
After the diagnosis, the husband and wife, who have two daughters, moved back to Taiwan from South Africa, where Chiang had been working.
However, despite two years of treatment, Chang’s cancer had spread to her brain and bones.
In February last year, Chang’s doctor determined that treatment was no longer effective and Chang was transferred to a hospice.
Heartbroken by his wife’s suffering, Chiang refused to give up and later that month he read about a cannabis product that claims to be able to cure cancer.
On March 12 last year, he ordered 37 yellow capsules and 19 brown capsules, both of which contained cannabis compounds, from US-based seller “Wentsai Wang.”
The package raised the suspicion of customs inspectors in Taipei, who seized it.
Chiang’s case was handled by a collegial panel at the Yunlin District Court composed of Presiding Judge Hsu Pei-ju (許佩如), and judges Chen Yu-liang (陳育良) and Huang Wei-ming (黃偉銘).
The panel granted Chiang probation after taking into consideration his motive for making the purchase.
Chang passed away on April 17 last year.
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