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Tuesday, 9th February 2010

Dope plants were grown for husband and wife to smoke

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Published Date: 13 September 2007
A RUGBY man who converted his shed so he could grow cannabis for himself and his wife to smoke has been ordered to pay almost £1,400 as the proceeds of his crime.

Phillip Andrews, 41, of Copeland, Brownsover, Rugby, had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to producing a total of 36 cannabis plants.

He was sentenced in December last year to nine months in prison suspended for two years, with 12 months su
pervision, and was ordered to pay £120 costs.

On that occasion a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act was adjourned for an investigation to be carried out into his finances.

And at the resumed hearing prosecutor Nigel Stelling suggested that the amount Andrews saved by not having to buy cannabis from dealers should be taken into account in working out his 'benefit' from the offence.

But following an adjournment for discussions with the defence, he said the agreed benefit to Andrews was £1,396 based on the cost of the hydroponic equipment he had bought and the electricity he used to grow the plants.

Mr. Stelling pointed out that that the 'available assets' totalled £6,449 – but because that was jointly held by Andrews and his partner the figure should be halved, which still amounted to more than his agreed benefit.

So Judge Charles Harris QC ordered that £1,396 should be confiscated from Andrews, who will face 45 days in prison in default of payment.

During the original hearing the court was told that in July last year the police went to Andrews' home, where he lives with his wife and two step-children, with a search warrant.

They found a total of 36 cannabis plants in various stages of growth.

The shed itself had been fitted with a transparent roof, and inside there was a large amount of hydroponic growing equipment, including lamps, fans and air and water pumps, which Andrews said he had bought for £4-500.

When he was arrested Andrews said he was growing the cannabis for personal use, and that he and his wife would smoke it.

The Judge at that hearing ordered that all of the growing equipment from the shed should be confiscated.



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  • Last Updated: 11 September 2007 7:37 PM
  • Source: Rugby Advertiser
  • Location: Rugby
 
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john-boi,

Wigan 12/09/2007 18:10:16
This is madness this man is being levied a charge for not buying his cannabis off organised crime.So in order to avoid this charge anybody else make sure you don't grow your own so that you know the quality and purity of what you are using but buy from organised crime where not only is your money being used for criminal activity but could contain god knows what...ludicrous.It really is time we ended this stupid prohibition that costs us billions a year to police and causes more damage to society than the drugs themsleves ever could.
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