Jamie Lee Clowes in Maroochydore court for trafficking drugs

A young woman with a “crippling” cannabis addiction, and who has horticulturalist aspirations, has been busted dealing drugs after police raided her home.

Jamie Lee Clowes leaves the Maroochydore Courthouse. Picture: Patrick Woods.

A young woman narrowly avoided jail time for supplying and selling drugs for years after police found encrypted messages on her phone.

Jamie Lee Clowes, 23, pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on February 26 to nine charges including trafficking drugs.

Crown prosecutor Elle Bolam told the court police conducted a search warrant at Clowes’ address on July 25, 2022 and discovered she had supplied cannabis to other people four times in 2019 and had been selling the drug from the age of 18 to 21 with a “large customer base”.

Officers had seized her phone and discovered encrypted apps on the device which she used to organise her transactions.

They also found four cannabis plants about 1.2m in height, which had been for personal use, and 143g of cannabis contained in five clip-seal bags ready to be sold.

The court heard Clowes had $1500 in cash at the home which were proceeds of her transactions.

Ms Bolam said the “street-level” quantities sold ranged between 3.5g and 28g and she had offered to supply the drug 128 times.

Defence barrister Mark Dixon said Clowes had been captured by the “principles of youthful offending”.

He told the court his client had suffered physical abuse in her family home and had eventually moved between several homes before being taken in by another relative where she again faced forms of abuse.

She was first introduced to cannabis during her time moving between homes, Mr Dixon said.

Clowes now lives with and cares for her father, aspires to study horticulture and has been making an effort to be free of cannabis, the court was told.

Mr Dixon said she suffers from PTSD and used drugs to cope but did not want to use medicinal cannabis in fear of continuously relying on substances.

Judge Glen Cash said her most serious offending was her trafficking business and it was clear she had a “crippling cannabis use disorder”.

He sentenced her to two-and-a-half years of imprisonment wholly suspended for three years.

Clowes pleaded guilty to one count of possessing dangerous drugs, one of producing drugs, six of supplying drugs, two of trafficking drugs and one of possessing drug utensils.