A SMALL-scale cannabis producer attempted to explain away the overpowering smell that was emanating from his Carlisle home by claiming that he had “just smoked a joint,” a court heard.
But when officers searched David Wardope’s Stockwell Road home in the city’s Blackwell area they found that he was growing cannabis plants under a large black tent in a bedroom.
The cannabis crop that he had intended to harvest would have yielded drugs with a potential street value of between £7,000 and £8,000. There was also drug producing paraphernalia, including scales, phones and cash.
The 31-year-old immediately accepted what he had done was wrong but told police he was trying to support his family.
The defendant pleaded guilty to possessing the class B drug with intent to supply, producing the drug and also possessing it.
Prosecutor Hannah Forsyth told the court: “Police attended Stockwell Road after reports of a strong cannabis smell. When the door was opened, the smell was overpowering.
“The defendant indicated that he had just smoked a joint.” Another man who was never identified had been seen leaving the property.
Some of the cannabis found at the house was already packaged, ready for sale in plastic snap-bags. Despite sitting through a lengthy police interview, the defendant gave no comment replies.
The court heard that the defendant’s past convictions included other cannabis related crimes dating back to 2013 and 2014, including possession of the drug with intent and supplying cannabis and cocaine.
Mark Shepherd, defending, accepted that the defendant was effectively running a “small business,” but said it was more like a “corner shop” than a supermarket.
A father-of-five, Wardrope had been a victim of crime himself in the past and had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, said the lawyer.
Read more. https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/20219017.carlisle-dad-of-five-growing-cannabis-bedroom/
