There's probably something ironic about being sentenced to home detention when your home has been confiscated. That's what has happened to a Rotorua man, who with his former partner was sentenced yesterday on cannabis charges. The pair forfeited their home to the Crown - a Rotorua first - after it was usedto cultivate enough cannabis to make up to $102,000. Police say it should serve as a warning to others who deal in drugs. It's certainly a serious penalty for a crime that didn't seem to warrant a jail sentence - the Hamurana home is valued at between $270,000 and $305,000 - and could well serve as the deterrent the authorities want it to be. Certainly the threat of prison and being kept away from family and friends doesn't seem to be enough of a deterrent itself for the thousands of criminals getting caught and making their way through the justice system. Losing one's freedom may seem a risk worth taking, but throwing in the possibility of losing what is for many their greatest possession may just convince a few that a life in drugs just isn't worth it.
