Lynn Cannabis Grower Avoids Prison

[Herb Fellow]

A Lynn man involved in the sophisticated production of cannabis has avoided prison after a court heard the drugs had been used for his own personal use and not supply. Police seized 11 large cannabis plants from a property in Shernborne last November after executing an arrest warrant on Jeremy Howell (44) for unrelated matters.

On their arrival Howell told officers "that is not the worst of it" and showed them two rooms with hydration and lighting systems which were being used to grow the drug. Howell, of 79 Sir Lewis Street, appeared at Lynn Magistrates' Court for sentencing on Thursday after admitting being involved in the production of cannabis at a hearing last month.

He was given a two-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, and was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work in the community and pay £60 costs. An order was also made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and growing equipment.

The court heard that police went to the bungalow in Shernborne in relation to another matter, but Howell became faint and sweated profusely on their arrival. After showing them the plants he was arrested and made no comment when first interviewed.

But he later told officers he had grown the drugs for his own personal use to help ease his back pain and had found information about cannabis production on the Internet. Howell said he had been using around one ounce per week but had no idea of how quickly the plants could grow and the yield they could produce.

Forensic scientists later confirmed the plants had a yield of 31 ounces, the equivalent of a one or two-year supply for an average user.

Mrs Anita Waterman, mitigating, told the court the drugs had been grown purely for self-medication. She said: "He is the sort of person that if he is going to do something, he will do it to the best of his ability. He was alarmed by the rate of growth and did not know what to do with the plants he was growing. There was no indication they (the police) would search the house, there was no attempt to get away with it and he expressed a relief that the police came and took it away." Mrs Waterman said Howell has no drug background and was not part of the drug culture.

On passing sentence magistrates told Howell that the amount of drugs seized had passed the custody threshold and had been grown in a relatively sophisticated manner. However, as he had not been involved in the supply of cannabis his sentence was suspended.

Source: Lynn News
Copyright: 2008, Lynn News
Contact: Staff
Website: Lynn cannabis grower avoids prison - Lynn News

[Boss]

Wow, it is rare to see common sence in the courts these days.

[Herb Fellow]

Its the UK