Cairns court: Wondecla dad Alex Trever Findlay, 48, says big cannabis crop was personal

A lawyer representing a dad busted cultivating a large cannabis crop argued the man had severe pain and could not afford medicinal cannabis.

Alex Trever Findlay’s lawyer told the court he conceded a “prison sentence would be required” only if his client was found to have grown the cannabis for a commercial cannabis.

A 48-year-old Wondecla father busted for growing a large crop of cannabis on his Tablelands property said the plants were medicinal and were to be cultivated to ease his chronic pain.

A crown prosecutor told Cairns District Court the man had a fully irrigated cannabis crop, which indicated he had more than 500 grams of the drug, and argued the court should convict the father-of-one for drug production.

The police also charged Alex Trever Findlay with possessing dangerous drugs, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of things for use in connection with drug offences – that being the irrigation pipe that watered the crop and featured Mr Findlay’s name printed on it.

The Wondecla man told the court he had experienced chronic knee and back pain for more than 20 years and could not afford medicinal cannabis.

His defence lawyer told the court, “I concede that if my client had been growing these drugs for commercial use then he would have to serve a term of imprisonment”.

“But in my submission these plants were for personal use”.

He told the court Mr Findlay developed knee pain in the 1990s, which had became progressively worse over time and eventually spread to his back.

He argued that his client that he could not afford medicinal cannabis.

Judge Tracy Fantin said: “Ordinarily, it’s such a large weight it would be appropriate for the court to make a finding that this was for commercial purposes.”

“Ordinarily, someone would be going through the prison door.

“But there were no clipsal bags, scales, cash, mobile phone, tick book, or evidence of concealment.

“I wouldn’t call the degree of sophistication. It seems that all that was done was what was required to grow cannabis in a dry area like Wondecla. There is no evidence of commercial production.”

Judge Fantin accepted the medical evidence and said Mr Findlay had “suffered chronic knee and back pain for many years”.

She handed down a head sentence of 18 months with an immediate parole release date.

Originally published as Cairns court: Wondecla dad Alex Trever Findlay, 48, says big cannabis crop was personal