Sleeping woes led to ice use

A WAREHOUSE manager used the drug ice to “self- medicate” for his sleep apnoea, a court has been told.

Benjamin James Mackney, 36, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Townsville yesterday to possessing a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine.

Defence barrister Anthony Collins said Mackney worked at an automotive spare parts business for 14 years, but his medical condition started to affect his performance.

“He had to acquire an expensive machine to assist with the sleep apnoea but couldn’t afford it,” he said.

“He has been able to borrow a similar device from his father, which assists to some degree.

“But what he found was that, in using methylamphetamine, it gave him more energy, so that when he was at work and had not been able to sleep properly, he was able to selfmedicate by using that.”

Mr Collins said Mackney lost his job due to performance and attend- ance issues at work. “He required the onselling of the material to, in part, fund his addiction,” he said.

The court was told Mackney had since worked for a cleaning business.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Lowrie said police searched Mackney’s home on July 24, 2014 and found 7.855g of a substance, of which 5.249g was pure methylamphetamine.

Justice David North said there were “significant quantities” of the drug and concluded it was a commercial possession.

In 2004, Mackney was sentenced for producing marijuana and in 2007, he was dealt with for supplying six MDMA tablets to others.

Justice North said while Mackney used methylamphetamine to selfmedicate, the drug was a “scourge in the community”. “Its use leads to a variety of effects – the increase in crime, the destruction of lives, the potential for damage to be done to family and work colleagues,” he said.

He sentenced Mackney to 20 months’ jail with parole release on May 31 next year.