Aaron Matthew Tinney fined for mum’s hydroponic marijuana set up at Norman Gardens home

A young apprentice electrician has been slapped with a fine after pleading guilty to charges related to a hydroponic marijuana setup instigated by his mum to help his sister’s complex health problems.

A young apprentice electrician has been slapped with a fine after pleading guilty to charges related to a hydroponic marijuana setup instigated to help his sister’s complex health problems.

When police executed a search warrant on the apprentice’s family home in Norman Gardens on May 5, police located a reminder message “water plants”, written on a mirror in his bedroom, the Rockhampton Magistrates Court heard.

Aaron Matthew Tinney, 21, pleaded guilty in court on August 8 to one count each of producing an illegal drug, possessing a dangerous drug, possessing items used in the commission of a drug crime and possessing drug utensils.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Sarah Rowe said police found one plant in the living area of the house, over a metre tall, and the hydroponic set up in the lower part of the house in the kitchen.

She said the hydroponic setup included a grow tent, LED lights, exhaust fans, various chemical fertilisers and a plant about 1.5 metres tall.

Senior Constable Rowe said police also located a grinder, digital scales along with 148g of marijuana in the freezer and 8.7g in a storage area.

Defence lawyer Jess King said her client’s mother, who instigated the marijuana production, had already been dealt with by the courts, receiving a $1500 fine.

She said her client’s mother, Wendy Tinney, instigated the production of marijuana to help her daughter who had complex health problems.

Ms King said Tinney’s sister had found relief from the marijuana and was able to eat.

She said the sister now had a prescription for medicinal marijuana.

Ms King said the reminder on the mirror was about household plants he was asked to look after when his parents went away on a holiday, not the marijuana production.

She said her client had pleaded guilty having knowledge of the production and handling some of the items used in the production which had his fingerprints on them.

Ms King handed up a letter from Tinney’s employer, who spoke highly of him.

Magistrate Philippa Beckinsale said the Tinney family was trying to deal with a difficult situation.

She ordered Tinney pay a $300 fine and no conviction be recorded.