Telford man who grew cannabis in his flat ordered to pay more than £300

Lighting equipment, heaters and a small quantity of plants weighing 3.5 ounces were seized from Aaron Lee Smith’s former flat, in High Street, Wellington, when officers carried out a search.

When the 26-year-old was arrested by officers on patrol in Telford, on September 2 last year he told them it was for his own use.

Miss Val Hart, prosecuting, told the town’s magistrates: “Police officers stopped a car at about 2pm. The driver was Mr Smith. There was a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle. They found a piece of foil with half a joint inside it.

“The car was searched, he was arrested and his address, in York Flats, Wellington, was searched. Some dead plants were found in a bin, lights, 10 heaters and power points consistent with the items used for cannabis production were found. His blood test on arrest measured three microgrammes. The limit is two for driving.

“Cannabis had been grown and was clearly a small amount. If sold it would have had a value of £1,455. He was interviewed initially for other matters, not related to this matter, and he made no comment about the cannabis.”

The provisional licence holder pleaded guilty to offences of being in the production of cannabis, driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a controlled drug above the specified limit, driving otherwise in accordance with his licence and having no insurance at the hearing held on Monday.

Mr Waleed Khan, mitigating, said: “He accepted the serious nature of the allegations. He is genuinely remorseful which is demonstrated by his guilty pleas. He has accepted the full facts of the case. This is the first time he has tried to grow cannabis and he got caught.

“He has mental health issues and thought if he grew his own it would help to prevent him getting ripped off when he tried to buy it from others.”

For cannabis production he was fined £80. For drug driving he was banned from the road for 18 months and fined £80, there was no separate penalty for driving the licence and no insurance offences.

Smith, now of Oakfield Road, Shawbirch, Telford, was also ordered to pay a victim’s surcharge of £30.