SELLING cannabis and saying it’s “medicinal” does not make it so.
This was the message a magistrate made clear to a Eureka man when he was sentenced for drug supply and possession before Byron Bay Local Court this week.
Andrew Richards, 55, from Eureka, had pleaded guilty to supplying cannabis oil, possessing cannabis in various forms and magic mushrooms and dealing with the proceeds of crime after police executed a search warrant at his home in July.
The court heard police found cannabis leaf, resin and oil at the home.
They found capsules containing cannabis oil in numbered, resealable bags.
According to court documents, he told police at the time he was “not a criminal” but supplied the drug for “medicinal purposes”.
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Defence solicitor John Weller said Richards had seen his mental health improve “once he stopped what he thought was the healing drug”.
Magistrate Karen Stafford said members of the community must not simply decide to be medical cannabis dispensaries.
“(For you) to supply them on a medical basis, it is still criminal behaviour,” she…