Paul Christopher Edwards, 47, of Maclean convicted of cultivating a prohibited plant

When police were called to a domestic incident in Maclean, someone uttered the words ‘they have a weed plant in their backyard’.

A Maclean man has landed himself in court after police discovered a cannabis plant growing in his backyard.

A Maclean man has landed himself in court after police discovered a cannabis plant growing in his backyard.

Paul Christopher Edwards, 47, appeared in Maclean Local Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to cultivating a prohibited plant.

According to the Police fact sheet tendered to the Court, police made the discovery after being called to a Maclean residence following a verbal domestic incident between Edwards’ son and girlfriend.

Court documents reveal that upon arrival to the property, the girlfriend told police that “they have a weed plant in their backyard.” Edwards confirmed the accusation and later led police out into the backyard to the prohibited plant.

The Fact Sheet states the plant was located at the rear of the backyard in a small garden bed and about 1.2 metres high.

Edwards told police, “Damn, I was only gonna prune it in the next couple days,” before going on to explain that he “just threw it in there a little while ago. It didn’t do too well, it got ripened off the top because the crickets were eating it all from the core.”

Edwards told police he grew it to use in lieu of pain relief medication following an accident with a chainsaw, documents state. Police later pulled the plant from the garden bed with its full root system still attached.

Edwards was convicted of the offence and fined $200.