STATE OF TASMANIA v ROBERT LESLIE HARRIS 2 SEPTEMBER 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant has been found guilty by a jury of possession of a controlled substance namely cannabis. He has also, through his counsel, pleaded guilty to two summary offences arising out of the same factual scenario. They are using controlled plants or its products and cultivating a controlled plant, namely three cannabis plants. I have agreed to deal with those matters under s 385A of the Criminal Code.
The defendant was found not guilty by a jury of a charge of trafficking in cannabis. The quantity of cannabis found in his possession was 6.3 kilograms.
The defendant is a 66 year old disability pensioner who is a respected member of the Flinders Island community, and who has previously been of excellent character, with prior convictions comprising only traffic infringement notices and one charge of speeding and one charge of bald tyres.
It is clear that this offence is an exception or aberration in an otherwise law abiding life of now 66 years. The defendant has a long list of disabilities, diseases and surgical procedures, and although he was already a cannabis user he began using cannabis heavily for the purposes of pain relief and also self-medication for anxiety and depression.
The quantity involved is significant, and whilst there is a tendency to treat cannabis as a less serious drug than other drugs such as methyl-amphetamines, cocaine and heroin as described by Sergeant Shea, cannabis is nonetheless illegal and is dealt with by the courts in the same way as other drugs. So, a deterrent sentence is called for. Not as a personal deterrent necessarily for Mr Harris, but as a general deterrent to other members of the community who might be like-minded.
In all the circumstances the defendant is convicted and sentenced to a period of 6 months’ imprisonment which sentence I wholly suspended on condition that he commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months.