Cannabis grower ‘smoked up to 60 joints every day’
A MAN caught growing cannabis plants told the police he smoked 50 or 60 joints a day and claimed it was all for personal use.
Nicholas Smith admitted he was responsible for cultivating 46 plants – some in a basement and others in the attic of a nearby flat in Caerphilly.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Richard Twomlow said it was a small-scale but sophisticated cannabis factory.
The court heard Gwent Police executed a drugs warrant at Gwern Avenue in Senghenydd, Caerphilly, on June 28 last year.
Gareth James, prosecuting, said: “Cannabis was being cultivated in the basement.”
Officers found 24 cannabis plants along with plant food, heat lamps, and fans.
The court heard Smith admitted there was a second property involved in nearby Commercial Street.
Police dismantled the facility at Gwern Avenue and found the plants were healthy and in the early stages of flowering at nine to 10 weeks old.
Prosecutors said they had not reached full maturity and were estimated to produce a yield between 24 and 72 ounces, worth between around £4,000 and £15,000.
Officers went to Commercial Street and found another 22 plants in the attic with evidence other rooms had been used or were going to be used for cultivation.
An expert estimated the yield to be between 22 ounces and 66 ounces, with wholesale value up to £15,000.
Police said the set-up contained more expensive equipment than they would usually find in a home-growing facility.
Officers also found quantities of cocaine and amphetamine which were consistent with personal use.
When he was interviewed Smith accepted he was a “heavy user” of cannabis and claimed he smoked 50 or 60 joints a day. He said he was growing it for himself.
Mr James said the average user smokes between 1g and 5g a day, with a heavy user smoking 5g, and his explanation was not sufficient for the quantities being produced.
The court heard he had 31 previous offences on his record but none for producing drugs. He was last before the court in 2004 for benefit fraud.
Smith, 44, from Gwern Avenue in Senghenydd, Caerphilly, admitted possessing amphetamine and cocaine, two counts of producing cannabis, and two counts of possessing cannabis.
Ed Mitchard, defending, asked for any prison sentence to be suspended rather than immediate.
He stressed his client cooperated with the police and was “very forthright” with officers by indicating there were plants at the second address.
The judge said the pre-sentence report was “encouraging”, adding: “It seems to me he is trying to address the problems of addiction to cannabis that have beset him for a very long time.”
Mr Mitchard said Smith had been seeking help, although that support had been limited by the pandemic, and he was hoping to return to face-to-face meetings soon.
He told the court: “He has taken this matter extremely seriously. He would take any assistance offered by the Probation Service.”
Judge Twomlow said: “It is a long time since he has been in any trouble.”
He told the defendant: “You seem motivated to address your problems with cannabis which have been long-standing.”
Smith was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 10 days of a rehabilitation activity. He must pay £100 towards prosecution costs.
The judge made an order for the cannabis plants, growing equipment, cannabis leaf, cannabis oil, amphetamine, and cocaine to be destroyed.