A woman who grew cannabis in a workshop containing three rooms was using it to relieve pain for serious injuries suffered in the Christchurch earthquake, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Bonnie Huhuna Collins (56), of Lawrence, was sentenced to three months’ community detention by Judge Michael Turner for cultivating and being in possession of the class C drug.
Police officers who executed a search warrant at Collins’ house in Lawrence on an unrelated matter found a concealed workshop containing a cannabis-growing operation, Judge Turner said in reading a summary of facts.
One of the rooms was a nursery containing eight seedlings, another room contained 14 semi-mature plants and the third room contained 20 mature plants, Judge Turner said.
In total, there was 77g of cannabis in the house.
Collins suffered significant injuries in the Christchurch earthquake and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.
There was no evidence Collins was looking to supply the drug, Judge Turner said.
Collins told the judge it was the second crop she had grown and she had not expected it grow as well as it did.
Judge Turner described the operation as ‘‘significant” and noted there were extractor fans and lights to assist growing.
Collins was given credit for being a first-time offender, her personal circumstances and her early guilty plea.
The community detention curfew imposed was 6pm on Fridays to 6am on Mondays.
Originally posted on the Otago Daily Times.