|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Ill ex-chef grew drug to make cannabis cakes Paul Clifford The Shields Gazette Monday 22 Aug 2011 When police searched John Barker’s home in Calver Court, Harton Moor, South Shields, they found six plants of the Class B drug growing in his garage. The 67-year-old, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said although he couldn’t smoke the drugs, he was going to use his knowledge to try to cook food with it. Barker pleaded guilty to producing a Class B drug at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. Lee Poppett, prosecuting, said: "Police executed a search warrant in Calver Court on May 10. "The defendant was inside, and officers found six cannabis plants growing in a partitioned area of the garage, which clearly had been set up for cultivation. "He accepted it was cannabis, and was arrested. In his police interview, he said he suffered from COPD and he wasn't going to smoke the cannabis but make cakes and eat it to try to help with his pain." Mr Poppett added that forensic tests found the plants to be defective and may never have yielded a crop. Ian Cruickshank, defending, said: "He has been in ill health for a number of years. "His mobility is severely restricted and he is in constant pain. "In the past he has sold drugs for profit, but for the last seven years he has not done that and was going to ingest it to alleviate his pain. "He has no knowledge of growing cannabis, and someone else had to show him what to do. "If he had known what he was doing, he wouldn't have bought plants with a defect." Mr Cruickshank told the court that Barker was going to use his past experiences as a chef to incorporate the drug into food. Magistrates fined Barker £65 and ordered him to pay £85 court costs. They also ordered the drugs and equipment to be destroyed. paul.clifford@northeast-press.co.uk http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/crime/ill_ex_chef_grew_drug_to_make_cannabis_cakes_1_3700042
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!