Probation ordered for Tarbot man on marijuana growing offence

SYDNEY — A Tarbot man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a single count of growing marijuana.

Keith Nicholas Burroughs, 27, was charged after RCMP seized some 43 plants and $855 in cash on Feb. 24, 2017, in River Bennett, Victoria County.

The court was told that Burroughs had been using marijuana as a self-treatment for anxiety. He has since secured a medical marijuana certificate that allows him to possess a limited amount of the drug. Burroughs was given a conditional discharge and if he completes a 12-month probation period with no infractions, the discharge can be made absolute, meaning he will not incur a criminal conviction for the offence. In addition, Burroughs is banned from possessing weapons for 10 years. A co-accused, Allan James Bradley, 25, of Baddeck Bay Road, is facing charges of growing marijuana, two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine and marijuana) possession of a weapon with no licence and careless storage of a weapon. The weapon offences involve a .22-calibre rifle.

A provincial court trial is now scheduled for June 18.