The 80-year-old man appeared in Oamaru District Court.
The 80-year-old man appeared in Oamaru District Court.
An 80-year-old Oamaru man found to be in possession of more than 15 ounces of cannabis - all for personal use - has told a judge he plans to kick his habit and find alternative ways to self-medicate.
Brian John Arbuckle appeared before Judge Joanna Maze at the Oamaru DistrictCourt on Wednesday for sentencing on a charge of possession of cannabis.
The court heard police executed a search warrant at an Oamaru property on June 7, in relation to drug offending allegedly carried out by the defendant's 29-year-old grandson, who occasionally stayed there.
When officers converged on the property and conducted the search, they discovered more than 400g of high-quality dried cannabis in a locked safe inside a secured shed.
Keys to the safe and shed were found in Arbuckle's bedroom.
Of the 432g seized, valued at about $4900, 398g was packed into 13 resealable plastic bags that each contained between 28g and 37g of cannabis. Another 34g was discovered in a brown paper bag.
Arbuckle, who told police the cannabis was for personal use, claimed the cannabis was harvested from four plants he stumbled across in a forest about a year earlier.
Defence lawyer Michael de Buyzer said Arbuckle sustained a serious injury as the result of an accident more than 30 years ago and had an artificial left leg, and frequently self-medicated with cannabis.