A farmer was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail for possession of cannabis and growing the illegal substance.
Eustace Lowe, 45, admitted that on September 24, at Moco Moco Village, Central Rupununi, he had in his possession 10 grammes of cannabis.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge that on the same day he cultivated cannabis, which are prohibited plants.
“I use it for health reasons,” Lowe told Magistrate Fabayo Azore,
before whom he appeared.
After pleading guilty to the charges, the magistrate informed the defendant that the offences carried a mandatory period of imprisonment and enquired from him whether he wanted to retain his guilty pleas.
The unrepresented Lowe said he understood and went on to explain that he uses cannabis because of health problems. He told the court that he was once involved in an accident in which he sustained injuries to his head and would use the cannabis to relieve pain and assist with retaining “balance.”
The police’s facts are that ranks, acting on information, went to Lowe’s Moco Moco home, where they conducted a search in his presence and uncovered a transparent plastic bag on his bed frame containing a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems believed to be cannabis.
According to Prosecutor Stephen Telford, Lowe later took the lawmen to his farm, located approximately 50 acres east of his home, where they discovered 25 cannabis plants ranging from three to 10 feet in height.
Lowe was subsequently arrested and charged.
After hearing the case, the magistrate sentenced Lowe to three years imprisonment on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. She also fined him $10,000 for the possession charge and $5,000 for cultivation charge.
