A rather strange defence ....
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src: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/12/04/4716_news.html
A 20-year-old man who developed a sophisticated drug set-up because he was depressed, after seeing the effects of Cyclone Larry, has been sentenced to one year's jail.
Jeffrey Peter Lines, of Miriwinni south of Cairns, was sentenced in Cairns Supreme Court yesterday.
He was granted immediate parole with two years’ probation after being convicted of possession of a dangerous drug, producing a dangerous drug and possession of items used in an illegal matter.
The court heard police found 41 potted cannabis plants, ranging from one to four metres in height, on his property during a raid on February 1, 2007.
Police also alleged the plants were watered by a hi-tech system using irrigation and water barrels, which had been set up on the property.
Dried cannabis plants were also found, along with the barrels and irrigation equipment.
But Lines’s defence lawyer Rowan Silva said his client’s drug use was because of the severe depression he had slumped into after the devastation of Cyclone Larry.
"He said he would ‘smoke himself into oblivion’," he told the court.
Mr Silva said his client was glad when police arrived because it would stop cannabis smoking.
The court heard Lines was smoking numerous joints each day, to help cope with his depression.
Justice Stanley Jones said his sentence reflected the nature of the defendant’s depression and that much of the drugs would have been used for personal use.
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1 year jail for 41 plants seems a bit excessive though, can't help but wonder if he had any prior convictions
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src: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/12/04/4716_news.html
A 20-year-old man who developed a sophisticated drug set-up because he was depressed, after seeing the effects of Cyclone Larry, has been sentenced to one year's jail.
Jeffrey Peter Lines, of Miriwinni south of Cairns, was sentenced in Cairns Supreme Court yesterday.
He was granted immediate parole with two years’ probation after being convicted of possession of a dangerous drug, producing a dangerous drug and possession of items used in an illegal matter.
The court heard police found 41 potted cannabis plants, ranging from one to four metres in height, on his property during a raid on February 1, 2007.
Police also alleged the plants were watered by a hi-tech system using irrigation and water barrels, which had been set up on the property.
Dried cannabis plants were also found, along with the barrels and irrigation equipment.
But Lines’s defence lawyer Rowan Silva said his client’s drug use was because of the severe depression he had slumped into after the devastation of Cyclone Larry.
"He said he would ‘smoke himself into oblivion’," he told the court.
Mr Silva said his client was glad when police arrived because it would stop cannabis smoking.
The court heard Lines was smoking numerous joints each day, to help cope with his depression.
Justice Stanley Jones said his sentence reflected the nature of the defendant’s depression and that much of the drugs would have been used for personal use.
---
1 year jail for 41 plants seems a bit excessive though, can't help but wonder if he had any prior convictions
