Cannabis grower now has legal prescription, court hears

A MAN found growing five cannabis plants in his house has been given a medicinal prescription for cannabis, a court has heard. Samuel Dorn (34), with a previous address in Trillick, was sentenced at Omagh Magistrates Court.

The charges of cultivating and possession of cannabis relate to a search conducted by police on his home address on March 20.

The court last week heard that when officers entered Dorn’s house they were met with a ‘strong smell of cannabis’ before locating five cannabis plants with ‘various stages of growth’ in an empty room.

Alongside the plants, 28 grams of herbal cannabis were also located in the house. Police estimated that the total value of cannabis seized amounted to £2,780. Dorn was arrested and made full admissions to both offences at interview.

Defence solicitor Michael Fahy said that alongside counselling and work with social services Dorn had sought help with ‘Alternaleaf’, a medicinal cannabis clinic in England.

Mr Fahy said that Dorn had endured a ‘rigorous’ assessment and has now obtained a legal cannabis prescription, which he collects from a local pharmacy once a month. He further informed the court that the defendant is regularly assessed by a ‘strong criteria’ to continue the prescription.

Fahy argued that this new legal prescription voided any possible reoffending as Dorn could now source the drugs legally instead of through criminal means.

In sentencing, Mr Fahy said that Dorn would be suitable for community service.

Deputy District Judge John Rea said that if the plants were for ‘commercial gain’ then Dorn would be facing an immediate prison sentence. However, Judge Rea gave credit for the 34-year-old’s guilty plea and steps taken towards addressing his problem with cannabis.

Dorn was sentenced to 80 hours of community service, with a destruction order granted for the seized cannabis.