Justice accepted drug was for pain

Grower on parole

TWO men have avoided jail for growing cannabis, in part because they used the drug to relieve chronic pain from a series of horrific injuries.

Co-accused Michael Peter Sacagio 34, and Jeffery Stewart Johnson, 50, fronted the Toowoomba District Court yesterday to plead guilty to producing cannabis in excess of 500 grams.

The court heard police were called to a disturbance at a Quinalow address on April 1, 2020.

Prosecutor Jodie O’Leary said the officers found three large cannabis plants, freshly cut with a combined weight of about 830 grams.

“Both men cared for the plants,” she said.

While Johnson had a limited criminal history, Ms O’Leary said Sacagio had a record of growing cannabis and was serving a suspended sentence when arrested.

Sacagio’s lawyer, Raymond Everest, said his client was the primary carer for his six children, and he was unable to work after he fell from a windmill while labouring in 2018.

“He was left unaided for 18 hours before a doctor got to him on the remote property,” he said.

The 10m fall broke Sacagio’s back and shattered his arm, leading to titanium implants in his bones.

Mr Everest added that his client had used legal pain treatments but found they were insufficient, leading to his self-medicated cannabis use.

After his latest arrest, Sacagio was accepted into a medical cannabis program.

“There is little risk going forward as my client does not need to go through dodgy means to get cannabis – all he has to do is call his pharmacist,” Mr Everest said.

For Johnson, Barrister Frank Martin said his client had had some 20 surgeries in the past 35 years after an experiment with a homemade bomb laced his leg with shrapnel, the most recent of which was an amputation at the hip.

Justice Deborah Richards accepted the cannabis was for medical use.

For Johnson, she ordered a three-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, while Sacagio received a 12 month jail term, paroled immediately.