Public to blame for drug farms, says judge

THE public is to blame for cannabis farms run by criminal gangs, a judge has said as he jailed an illegal immigrant who worked in a drug factory.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright made the comments as he jailed Elian Lici for 16 months after he admitted producing the class B drug.

The 26-year-old Albanian was paid £5,000 a month by a gang to look after 250 cannabis plants growing in a house in Worcester.

Judge Cartwright said that the people of the city “drive the market” that created demand for cannabis farms such Lici’s.

“This is yet another case of a cannabis factory being discovered here in Worcester,” he said.

“As is often the case, a house was converted into a cannabis-growing facility with many plants being grown under artificial lighting with sophisticated ventilation and irrigation systems installed.

“An illegal immigrant was installed by those higher up the chain to do the work of gardening the plants. Again, this is common.

“Any members of the public tempted to comment adversely on these bare facts should perhaps reflect on the fact that it is the people of Worcestershire who buy and use cannabis who drive the market which creates such offending.”

Police raided the house on Aug 26, and found rooms full of cannabis plants and growing equipment. Lici was arrested at the scene and told police that he was paid £5,000 a month as a “gardener” but denied he knew the plants were illegal.

Despite the judge’s comments, drug reform campaigners said that it was “impossible” to have a sensible discussion about the public’s demand for cannabis without recognising that street drugs were often bought for medicinal purposes.

Rosalind Stone, from the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, said: “Judge Cartwright’s suggestion that the public should not leap to judge a person who has come to be involved in cannabis production is praiseworthy.

“And he is right to note that there are complexities at play beyond the ‘bare facts’ of the case.

“But is deeply ironic that Judge Cartwright identifies the people of Worcester specifically as being in part to blame for the illicit production of cannabis by creating a demand, when in fact, Worcester is home to one of the UK’S flagship UK Cannabis Social Clubs – a nationwide organisation that promotes safe and informed cannabis production and consumption.

“Furthermore, it is impossible to have a sensible discussion on the relationship between cannabis production in the UK and the British public’s ‘demand’ for cannabis-based products without recognising that people access it for an immense variety of reasons.

“More than a million UK citizens, for instance, source street cannabis specifically for medicinal purposes.”