Pubdate: Thu, 19 Nov 2009
Source: Nelson Mail, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
Contact:  http://www.nelsonmail.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1069

CANNABIS GROWER HOPED FOR NEW LAWS

A Nelson man caught growing 180 cannabis plants out the back of his
hydroponics shop says he was anticipating the legalisation of cannabis
for medical purposes.

Kevin Yates, 46, was sentenced to five months' home detention and 200
hours' community work when he appeared in the Nelson District Court
yesterday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one charge each of cultivating
cannabis, selling cannabis and possession of LSD.

In June, police searched Yates' Parere St business Indoor Exotic and
found a padlocked area with a "sophisticated indoor cannabis
operation", said Judge David McKegg. A total of 180 cannabis plants
were recovered, along with 90g of dried cannabis heads and 40 tabs of
LSD.

It was "naive and misguided" for Yates to say he had grown cannabis in
anticipation of a bill in Parliament which aimed to legalise cannabis
for medical purposes, Judge McKegg said.

"It seems clear that you had a view of legislation that was about to
be considered that you felt would favour you considerably, and you
were prepared to act illegally to get that commercial advantage.

"It seems that your interest in cannabis personally led you to this
type of endeavour," Judge McKegg said.

Yates' lawyer Mark Dollimore said his client had a philosophy that
cannabis had "major" medical advantages for people. Yates was
optimistic there would be a law change allowing cannabis growers to
dispense small amounts of the plant for medical health reasons, Mr
Dollimore said. The bill was contemplated in July, a month after Yates
was charged, but was defeated 38 votes to 47, Mr Dollimore said.

Yates was confident that had it become law, "he would have had a start
in the situation".

Mr Dollimore said Yates was co-operative when arrested and admitted to
police he had sold cannabis clones. "He sold 14 clones at $10 per
clone, and made that admission straight away. He didn't hide behind
the right to silence."

Yates had no previous convictions, had an "extremely good"
relationship with his partner and was treating the situation very
seriously, Mr Dollimore said.

Mr Dollimore asked that Yates be sentenced to home
detention.

Crown prosecutor Janine Bonifant said the aggravating factors in the
case included the fact Yates' setup was a commercial operation,
regardless of the philosophy behind it. "It was a sophisticated
operation and involved a large number of plants and clones."

The offending was further aggravated by the fact Yates had sold
hydroponic and cultivation equipment at Indoor Exotic, Ms Bonifant
said.

Placing "high potency" plants into the community could be viewed by
the court as being more serious than the selling of dried cannabis.

Yates was misinformed about what had been proposed through the bill at
Parliament, Ms Bonifant said. What was actually being proposed was a
law to make cannabis available for medical reasons in a controlled way
through chemists rather than individuals such as Yates, she said.
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