72year Old Milk Man Brought Hash Too
This story points out why mandatory federal drug sentencing in the United States stinks and needs to change. Were this 72 year old delivering hash to wheelchair bound elderly Americans with MS he would have HAD to serve the hard time.
Robert Holding leaves Burnley crown court after receiving a suspended sentence for delivering cannabis on his milk run Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA
Pint of gold top and an eighth of hash – milkman who also delivered drugs
www.guardian.co.uk | Helen Carter | Friday 6 February 2009
Suspended sentence over sales to elderly customers
72-year-old said he did it to help their pain relief
To the casual observer, Robert Holding seemed a kindly milkman who was attentive to his elderly customers as he delivered their daily pints.
To the less casual observer – specifically, a surveillance team from Lancashire police – Holding, 72, turned out to be a drug dealer who was supplying cannabis from his milk float to an elderly clientele.
His customers, who smoked the resin to relieve their aches and pains, would leave notes with their empty milk bottles to say how much of the drug they required. His reputation as a drug dealer spread rapidly among 17 of his customers in Burnley, Lancashire.