A Blackball man will claim 2.5kg of cannabis head, with an estimated street value of up to $33,000, found at his home last year was for his personal consumption.
Eric Peter Vegneris, 50, has elected trial by jury on a charge of possessing cannabis for supply.
Judge Alastair Garland tolda Greymouth District Court jury today that in cannabis supply charges it was up to the accused to prove that it was not for sale, and that the Crown did not have the burden of proof.
Detective Malcolm Haughey, accompanied by two detectives from Nelson and two constables, executed a search warrant of Vegneris's home on May 8, 2012. They found a drying room next to a double garage, where a sheet of plywood on trestles held 2.1kg of cannabis head drying under heaters.
Two small bags concealed in a wall each had about 40g of dried head, and a basket inside the house held a further 275g. As well, police found kitchen scale, bags, fertiliser and other items used by cannabis dealers.
Vegneris said he had found the cannabis in the bush but would not say where.
He told police it was not for sale and that he and his wife intended to smoke it all.
A police expert estimated that the cannabis, if sold in pound lots, would have brought in $21,000, but if broken down into ounces it would have raised $33,000.
