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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Wales: Clyne man grew cannabis ‘for self medication’ Andrew Pugh Neath Guardian Wednesday 07 Jan 2009 Ryan Kevin Pritchard, 24, pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis when he appeared before Port Talbot Magistrates on December 31. The court heard that at 10.30am on Friday, August 15, police executed a search warrant at his flat in Maes Pwll, Clyne. Upon entering, officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis from a first floor doorway which appeared to have been sealed with plastic sheeting. They opened the door to find the main room had been converted into a “hydroponic unit”, the walls lined with silver foil and cannabis plants placed in large pots. Police also found smaller sapling plants in the bedroom. He was arrested and taken to Neath Police Station where he admitted the plants were his, but insisted they were for personal use. Emma Miles, prosecuting, told the court it was a “relatively unsophisticated operation”, and that Pritchard had one previous conviction for assault in 2005. His solicitor, Simon Thomas, said that after the assault incident three years ago, his client had suffered a nervous breakdown. “Two years later he was prescribed medication by his GP, including beta-blockers and anti-depressants. “He had tried cannabis and found it assisted his psychological state and stopped taking the medication.” Twelve months ago he got a job as a cleaner at Marks and Spencer in Neath, but shortly before the police raid his depression had returned and he no longer worked there. Mr Thomas said that of the 18 plants, 13 were saplings and were not of any use, but would have been rotated into use when the larger plants had been used up. Pritchard had ordered the cannabis seeds over the internet. Mr Thomas added: “This was a very small scale cultivation for personal use. Mr Pritchard pleaded guilty and now wants to make a clean breast of things. “He will have learned his lesson as a consequence of his first conviction for drug offence.” A probation officer told the court that Pritchard had suffered mental health problems from a young age, and that after his breakdown he had attempted suicide and was now being prescribed tranquillisers. Magistrates gave him a two-year conditional discharge.
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