Singing drug user jailed

[Hash]

A MAN who sang, blessed and played music to his cannabis plants in a bid to help them grow was jailed for three years yesterday.

Ballarat Magistrates Court heard 20 cannabis plants were found growing in a shed at Geoffrey Granger's Clunes property on April 20, this year.

The court heard the plants were between 1.3m and 1.8m tall and growing under lights, which were connected to electrical timers.

Police found a further 1.5kg of dried cannabis in Granger's refrigerator.

Constable Leigh Discher told the court Granger admitted growing the cannabis during his record of interview, but denied it was for the purpose of trafficking.

He said Granger told police had grown the plants by singing to them, blessing them and praying to them.

"I sing to them, bless them, pray to them, put the radio on and hope they do really well," Const Discher said of Granger's comments during the interview.

The dried cannabis alone was estimated to have a street value of $2500.

Granger, 50, of Blackmore Rd, yesterday pleaded guilty to cultivating, possessing and using cannabis.

Granger also admitted two prior convictions for trafficking drugs.

The court heard Granger had been using cannabis since he was 16 and smoked up to 14 grams a day.

However since his arrest, Granger had significantly reduced his use of cannabis and sought counselling at Uniting Care.

Magistrate James Mornane convicted and sentenced Granger to three year's jail, with a non-parole period of 10 months.

Granger appealed the decision and was released on bail.


The Courier
http://www.thecourier.com.au/detail....ws&m=11&y=2004