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UK: Cannabis man's spree
Exeter Express and Echo
Saturday 24 Jan 2004 A man who went on a crime spree in a Devon town was an "example of how harmful cannabis was", a court heard. Shane, also known as Simon, Sweet, who is waiting to be sentenced for seven offences, was suffering mental health problems related to his excessive use of cannabis, Exeter Crown Court heard yesterday His defence counsel David Evans told the court: "We are aware of the declassification of cannabis, but here we have an example of how harmful cannabis is. "This is what lies behind the offending. He has been using it for a long time on a regular basis, and his mother has great concerns for him." Two of the offences were breaching a restraining order imposed to protect his mother, sister and brother, by stopping him going near the family home in Hayman's Close, Cullompton, the court heard. One of the breaches happened when he decided to spend the night in the garden shed, after being kicked out of a house he had been staying at. He admitted the breaches, and also admitted handling stolen goods, driving without insurance, failing to surrender, possessing a bladed article, and breaching a conditional discharge. The knife was found in the defendant's car when it was searched by the police. The handling charge related to a stolen motorbike he was spotted riding around St Andrew's Estate in Cullompton without a helmet. That subsequently led to the count of no insurance. Mr Evans said Sweet, 30, who was homeless, had spent eight weeks in custody "as a result of a family dispute". He fell out with his brother and sister and was alleged to have hit his sister with a piece of wood. Mr Evans said: "If he is released, no agency has an obligation to house him. He will be essentially on the street and on his own." The case was adjourned for two weeks while Sweet is assessed by the probation service and efforts are made to find him a home.
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