In 2008, Edwin Stratton was suffering severely from coeliac disease. He was arrested in mid-2008 after fire investigators, looking into a fire in a wine bar below his Leyton apartment, discovered cannabis plants in his home. Stratton stated that he was growing for medical use, but was charged with producing the drug cannabis, exposing him to a potential maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Snaresbrook Crown Court handed down a sentence of three months in prison, suspended for one year with £500 costs, and prohibited Stratton from owning hydroponic equipment for one year. In November 2008, he was due to appear at the Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court and challenge the charge as a contravention of Article 14 of the Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on any grounds.