A Fingal man who exchanged his home-grown cannabis for alcohol has avoided jail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Craig Ronald Baldwin appeared in the Launceston Supreme Court on Friday after police found almost 14 kilograms of cannabis at his home in April last year.
Almost 8 kilograms of dry cannabis had been found stored in plastic barrels in a garden shed at the Fingal property and another six kilograms of harvested plants were drying in the roof.
Growing the plants in an abandoned compound in the bush near his home, the 44-year-old mine worker planned to keep the cannabis for himself, the court heard.
In his sentencing report, Justice Robert Pearce said Baldwin had grown more cannabis than needed, and had exchanged some of the cannabis to his mates in return for alcohol.
Justice Pearce said due to Baldwin’s early plea of guilty and admissions to police, a wholly suspended sentence was appropriate.
“The term should be a sufficient deterrent for him and others minded to grow cannabis in this quantity,” Justice Pearce said.
Baldwin was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison, wholly suspended for 18 months.
He was ordered to pay a victims of crime compensation levy of $90 within 28 days.