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A Blenheim man with a drug problem that began before he was born has been sent to prison for a drug-related burglary.
Defence lawyer Gary Sawyer told Blenheim District Court the case of Michael Gary Withington, 29, was one of the saddest he had been involved with.
Looking at Withington's history of 84 previous convictions, it was not surprising to see him in court again on a charge of burgling a pharmacy, he said.
Withington's drug problems began before his birth. By the age of seven he was sniffing glue and by the time he was 13 he was into intravenous drugs, Mr Sawyer said.
He quickly moved on to opiates and got involved in the gang and crime scene and had been on a downward spiral ever since.
"He is at the stage of being institutionalised -- he struggles to live in the community.
"The last time he was released from prison he said he found the going too tough."
Withington wanted to deal with his drug problem but had no family support to help him.
The court was told he smashed the door of a pharmacy in Stoke, Nelson, and stole lozenges containing pseudoephedrine along with other medications worth $1000 in total.
Judge Anthony Walsh said a range of sentences had previously been handed down to Withington, who had real difficulty in coping with his emotions and turned to drugs to help him.
Withington was jailed for nine months.
- NZPA
Drug problem started before birth, lawyer tells court
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