CANNABIS GROWN FOR PERSONAL USE

A Blenheim man facing charges of the cultivation and supply of
cannabis told the police he used the drug for medicinal purposes.

Farm manager Nigel David Cowper, 26, admitted the charges and was
sentenced to three months' community service and nine months'
supervision when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.

An order was also made to destroy the cannabis and
equipment.

At a previous court appearance, police said they had searched Cowper's
house on April 8 and found a box containing 181 grams of cannabis head
and two other boxes containing a total of 902g of cannabis material.

A small tin in the kitchen contained a further 2g.

The police also found a shed with 11 cannabis plants and a homemade
bong, and 2g of cannabis was found in Cowper's car.

Judge Tim Broadmore said Cowper "claimed to use it for medicinal
purposes" and for his own personal use.

The problem with people using the drug for medicinal purposes was that
"they find they have a dependency on it", Judge Broadmore said.

However, there was no evidence Cowper was supplying the drug, despite
the number of plants and amount of cannabis found, he said.

Defence lawyer Philip Watson said police confiscated Cowper's firearms
licence, which he needed for his job, when firearms were not involved
in the crime.

Judge Broadmore said Cowper needed to think about his drug use,
especially because he was the father of two children.

"You've got two young kids you need to think about. It's bad for them
to grow up with cannabis as a normal part of their environment."