Pensioner busted with large drug haul near Gympie

The man produces enough to personally last for a year, Gympie Magistrates Court heard

A Gympie pensioner was busted with 1.3kg of cannabis at his Monkland home.

A pensioner who was busted growing 1.3kg worth of cannabis said he grew it in bulk for personal use for the whole year ahead.

Patrick Anthony Coyne, 62, was found with the large quantity of the drug at his Monkland property on January 6 this year as well as a set up with lights and fans that helped produce the drug.

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His lawyer told Gympie Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty this month to producing the drug, that the former truck driver had been growing cannabis every season since 1977 for personal use.

Coyne had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and also suffered from significant ongoing effects from meningococcal, she said.

"The disease has destroyed his life," she said.

She said he could not afford to source it legally.

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Magistrate Chris Callaghan told him that the quantity was large but accepted that it was for personal use.

He warned him that he would now be on the police's radar as a cannabis user.

He was convicted and fined $300.

No conviction was recorded.

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