Acting under a search warrant, authorities entered the Lefroy home of Craig Allan Hardstaff on May 14, 2020 and discovered more than four kilograms of usable cannabis in two sheds toward the back of the property.

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The stash was spread across 17 separate containers which each held amounts of cannabis ranging in weight from 1.2 grams to well over a kilogram.

According to the state prosecution, if the 4.2 kilograms of "good-to-excellent-quality" cannabis were parcelled into individual, low-weight deals, it could be valued at anywhere between $27,000 and $45,000.

That said, at the time the drugs were seized it appeared Mr Hardstaff had made only $2200 from his cannabis stocks, which - at his own admittance - he had cultivated at home and out "in the bush".

The majority of the $2200 in payments had come from a family member, who reportedly purchased one pound of cannabis in 2019 from Mr Hardstaff for $2000 before selling it on.

The remaining $200 was bought by the same family member in April 2020. Mr Hardstaff claimed that he did not grow cannabis for financial gain as he was employed at the time of the search and had been consistently employed since leaving school.

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He also admitted to using cannabis daily to help him "relax" and manage his as-yet undiagnosed anxiety.

Mr Hardstaff said he would frequently use a bong up to 20 times a day to consume cannabis - which state prosecutors determined would equate to around one ounce a week.

At that rate, Mr Hardstaff would need just shy of three years to consume the entire 4.2-kilogram stash.

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Both his defence counsel Greg Richardson and Justice Robert Pearce noted his "excellent industrial record", which had only been interrupted recently following the trafficking charges coming to light.

Justice Pearce also agreed with Mr Richardson that, despite the quantity of the stash, the financial returns were small. Consequently, Justice Pearce ordered the $2200 to be repaid to the state.

A further fine of $500 was issued to Mr Hardstaff as was a $2000 fine for the trafficking charge.

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