Police found 54 mature cannabis plants when they searched a property at Royal George in March last year, a Supreme Court jury heard.
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Peter John Jenkins, 51,of Royal George, south of Avoca, pleaded not guilty to a count of cultivating a controlled plant for sale on or before March 26, 2021.
Crown prosecutor Peter Sherriff said that under Tasmanian law people were entitled to believe that if someone grew more than 20 plants they intended to sell.
"Unless an accused on the balance of probabilities convinces you otherwise," he said.
Defence counsel Mark Doyle said the issue at trial was simply why.
"Why was Mr Jenkins growing marijuana," he said.
In an interview with police Mr Jenkins said he grew the cannabis for personal use to combat arthritis in his spine.
He complained that police had visited his property when he was not home.
"I thinks it's wrong," he said.
Constable Maddison Hickman said the 54 plants grown outdoors and in sheds varied in size up to two metres.
She agreed with Mr Doyle that the cannabis was not hidden.
During the video-recorded interview Mr Jenkins said notes he had written on a piece of paper showed he had yielded 1997 grams from two plants.
Detective Sergeant Glenn Evans said that cannabis generally lost 65 per cent of its weight when dried.
A kilogram of dried cannabis sold in street deal amounts of 1.2-1.8 grams worth $25 each could sell for $13,888.
A kilogram sold for $8000 to $10,000, Detective Sergeant Evans said.
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