Jacob Tuck: Sunshine Coast miner guilty of huge cannabis crop

A magistrate has expressed scepticism over an injured Sunshine Coast miner’s claim his greenhouse was for self-medication only.

A Sunshine Coast miner injured in a car accident would need a “chimney installed in the back of your neck to smoke” the extraordinary amount of cannabis he grew, a court has heard.

Warana man Jacob Paul Tuck, 31, pleaded guilty in Maroochydore Magistrates Court to three charges stemming from a search warrant executed at a Maroochy River address where he was living at the time on June 3, 2021.

The court heard police had arrived at the property for an unrelated inquiry about 8pm when they found no-one home and checked the “shed-style concerted living area” out the back, from which emanated an “extremely strong smell” of cannabis.

They returned two hours later with a search warrant, with the owner of the property saying the converted living area was rented by Tuck.

Police uncovered a bowl of chopped cannabis, grinder and scales in the shed.

However, it was the contents of the attached garage which piqued their interest of officers.

It included a 3m-by-3m tent containing 15 “large” cannabis plants, each standing 1.5m tall and “extremely bushy and healthy”; a smaller 1m-by-1m grow tent, with 28 cannabis seedlings; and a plethora of hydroponic lights, fans, ducting, converters and fertiliser.

Tuck attended Kawana Waters Police the following day where he admitted the plants were his, but declined a formal record of interview.

Defence lawyer Belinda Robinson told the court her client was forced to cease his work as a gas miner in January 2020 due to a lung inhalation injury and had been on welfare payments since.

Warana man Jacob Paul Tuck, 31, with lawyer Belinda Robinson. Picture: Alex Treacy

She said he was fighting a WorkCover case.

In addition to this, Tuck was involved in a serious car accident at age 18, for which he was prescribed valium and “heavy opioids”, as well as medicinal cannabis.

Ms Robinson told the court she was instructed Tuck was unable to afford the $450-a-bottle cost of medicinal cannabis and wished to extract oil from his plants for consumption.

She said he intended to return to work.

Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin told the court he was sentencing Tuck on an “artificial basis” as he didn’t believe the plants were for a purely personal purpose, although he stressed that’s what he would be sentenced on.

“You’d have to have chimney installed in the back of your neck to smoke that much,” Mr McLaughlin said.

“It was a serious enterprise … You’ve spent a lot of time and money on it.”

Tuck was fined $4000 and all items were forfeited to the Crown.

No convictions were recorded.