A Far North man who grew more than 1000 marijuana plants -- enough to potentially produce 2000oz of cannabis - has been jailed for three years.
Eugene Kenneth Young, 39, beneficiary, of Waipapakauri, had pleaded guilty to an indictably laid charge of cultivating cannabis and appeared for sentencing in the High Court at Whangarei this week. The charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail and the potential street value of the 1034 plants was put at between $400,000 and $750,000.
Police executing a search warrant at his home on February 8, 2008, found four plants and 370 seedlings in a small garden, 200 plants on the southern side of the home and four seedlings on the western side.
More were found among tomatoes. An indoor cultivating set-up in a garage contained 100 plants, and a growing operation was found in the wardrobe of the master bedroom.
Young said he grew the cannabis for his own use. He claimed to smoke an ounce a week. At that rate, it would take more than 38 years to smoke the cannabis the plants could have produced. Young also told police he had dope plants growing "up north" but would not say where they were.
The court heard Young had seven previous convictions for cannabis-related offences.
Crown prosecutor Mike Smith said Young also had an outstanding fine of $6000 but Justice John Priestley said he could not waive that. Justice Priestley said Young had been assessed as a high-risk offender and had been using cannabis for 25 years. The large-scale cultivation indicated he hadn't learned any lesson after previous sentences for drug offences. Justice Priestley fixed a starting point for sentencing of four years jail and increased it by six months because of the previous convictions. But Young received a one-third reduction for pleading guilty and ended up with a three-year jail term.
Cannabis cropper sent to jail
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