A chef caught growing cannabis plants worth €34,000 at his home in Kenmare was using it "as a form of self-medication" for his bipolar disorder, a court has heard.
Gardaí had accepted the drugs Aidan Kerins was found with were for his personal use, Tralee Circuit Criminal Court was told on Friday at a final sentencing hearing.
Kerins, who received a suspended sentence, had pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis without a licence and to a second count of simple possession of cannabis at his rented home in Bridge Street on December 2nd, 2014. He was not charged with growing the cannabis for sale or supply, Judge Thomas E O’Donnell noted.
As well as smoking the cannabis, Kerins made cannabis biscuits and oil for his own use, the court was told.
Recalling the facts of the case, given at an earlier hearing, the judge said Sgt Declan Liddane of the Kerry Drugs Division had given evidence that gardaí had received confidential information about a possible cultivation operation. They obtained a warrant and searched Kerins’s house.
Self-medication
They found 43 plants worth a total of €34,000, as well as fans, lights, weighing scales and other paraphernalia.
Mr Kerins said he was growing the cannabis for his own use and was fully co-operative, the court heard.
He said he was bipolar and “using the cannabis as a form of self-medication”, the judge noted.
A psychiatric report confirmed Kerins had a bipolar disorder and the probation service found he was at low risk of re-offending, the judge said.
Kerins has a daughter who lives in Holland with her mother and he makes regular maintenance payments. He had a horticultural background and had one conviction for a road traffic offence in 2000.
The aggravating factors were “the sophistication” of the operation and the market value was of concern, the judge said.
However, he said Kerins had made early admissions and noted the psychiatric and probation service reports.
“Excellent references” from his employer with regard to his work as a chef had also been handed in to court.
The judge sentenced Mr Kerins to 18 months for cultivation, suspended for a period of 18 months. The charge of simple possession was to be taken into consideration.
Tom Rice, prosecuting barrister for the DPP, applied for a destruction order of the cannabis and this was granted.