Man caught growing cannabis in loft

Feb 17 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

Man caught cultivating cannabis farm in loft

A MAN caught cultivating a cannabis farm in his loft narrowly avoided a prison sentence.

The aptly named Jason Gardner was caught after police officers detected the smell of cannabis coming from his house in Manse Avenue, Whitburn.

When officers raided his home on May 26 last year the 23-year-old told them he was growing cannabis in his loft where they found 18 mature plants and 14 younger plants.

Senior fiscal depute John Barclay told Livingston Sheriff Court the plants were worth £4500.

“He admitted he had been growing it for some time for his own use and there was no suggestion that he was growing it for onward supply,” Mr Barclay added.

Last week father-of-one Gardner pled guilty to producing the class-B drug at his home.

His solicitor Kevin Dugan told the court the value given was the highest possible for the cannabis.

Mr Dugan added: “He has no previous convictions at all. Since the event took place he has kept out of trouble and he has adhered to all his bail conditions.

“It provided some relief to him but he is no longer taking cannabis.

“It is always a very serious matter but I do hope given everything detailed in the report, his lack of offending and the fact he clearly recognises what he did was wrong my lord might consider a non-custodial sentence.

“He is a hardworking young man and a family man.

“One of the reasons he decided to grow his own was that he didn’t like meeting cannabis dealers and people who took part in that trade.

“There was no sinister element to this at all.

“While it is a serious matter it is on a less serious footing than someone who is concerned in the supply of any illegal drugs.

“He understands that a mistake was made by him and he has done everything in his power since then to change his ways.

“This was a one-off incident and the whole thing lasted just a short time and the cannabis addiction that he had is over.”

Ordering him to carry out the maximum 300 hours of community service Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said he had come close to jailing Gardner.

Sheriff Kinloch added: “The cultivation of cannabis is something that needs some determination to pursue with the amount of effort it takes and it is on a completely different level from possession of cannabis.

“I will not be giving you a discount on the number of hours of community service you have to do as not getting a custodial sentence is in effect your discount.”