The Court: Geelong Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Ryan Robertson
The Charges:
- Traffick Drug of Dependence
- Cultivate Cannabis
- Possess a Drug of Dependence
- Use a Drug of Dependence
- Deal with Property Suspected of Being Proceeds of Crime
- Possess a Controlled Weapon
The Allegations:
Our client was a 22-year-old young man from Geelong with no criminal priors. At the time of the offence, he lived with a close family member. The house was raided by the police, who had a warrant that allowed them to do so lawfully. The police found a grow room located in the spare bedroom where they located five cannabis plants in pots, dried cannabis hanging from the roof in a bathroom, one snap lock bag containing cannabis and one plastic container containing cannabis.
The police also seized our client’s phone, and various text messages were located on his phone, which assisted the prosecution’s case that our client was trafficking the cannabis that he was growing. The police also located cash in the premises, which our client did not have an explanation for, as he was not working at the time of the offence. The total amount of cannabis found was 30 grams, which did not include the cannabis plants.
In addition to the drug charges, our client was found in possession of two knives (a flip knife and a machete).
At Court:
Our solicitor had their work cut out for them. The client was facing serious drug charges. The client instructed our solicitor that despite trafficking the cannabis, he was also cultivating it for personal use as he had been a longtime user. On advice, the client abstained from drug use and attended drug and alcohol counselling.
The matter proceeded as a guilty plea to the charges at court, and a letter from our client’s alcohol and drug counsellor and clean urine screens were tendered. Our solicitor made lengthy submissions to the court in mitigation.
The Outcome:
The Magistrate placed our client on an adjourned undertaking for 12 months with two special conditions: first, he must continue drug counselling for the duration of the undertaking, and second, he must pay $400 to the court fund. Our client had no conviction recorded against his name.
Given the serious nature of the charges, this was an exceptional result in the circumstances, and our client was extremely lucky to avoid a criminal conviction.
