Lawyers argue oil purity for charged drug dealer caught in home raid

A Northern Rivers man accused of manufacturing commercial quantities of cannabis oil, mushrooms and cultivating crops will fight the charges with this defence:

He stands accused of 18 supply, cultivate and manufacture charges, stemming from a January 20 search of his property.

A Nimbin man accused of manufacturing commercial quantities of cannabis oil and cultivating crops will argue the oil was pure, according to court proceedings.

Alan John Evans, 66, had his matters heard in Lismore Local Court on Wednesday, August 11.

He stands accused of 18 supply, cultivate and manufacture related charges, stemming from a January 20 search of his property.

Mr Evans stands charged with producing a commercial quantity of the oil, namely 1.755kg of cannabis oil, including the packaging, and supplying 36 mushrooms in a commercial quantity.

He also allegedly possessed 6.483kg of cannabis leaf and grew six plants, dealing with $7590 in profits from the business.

Police have charged Mr Evans after a search of his Nimbin home in January, 2021.

During his Wednesday mention, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions prosecutor Gabrielle Cornett told the court the prosecution had been approved to test the oil for its purity, as this was the defence’s main case against the charges.

As of 2015, pure cannabis (CBD) oil is legal in Australia, as long as it contains at least 98 per cent cannabidiol and 2 per cent or less of other cannabinoids found in cannabis.

“The case conference cannot continue until the purity test,” she said.

“That is crux of the issues being addressed.”

When Magistrate Michael Dakin asked why there was a delay in the test results, Ms Cornett stated a request had been placed June 26 but that rejections of the payment in the department had postponed the matter.

The oil allegedly found in Mr Evans possession will undergo testing.

However, with approval now given, testing would take up to eight weeks.

Mr Evans is yet to enter any formal pleas for the nine counts of supply a prohibited drug, two counts of manufacturing or producing a dangerous drug, three counts of possessing a prohibited drug, one count of supplying a prohibited plant, one count of cultivating a prohibited plant, one count of knowingly deal with the proceeds of crime and o one count of possessing instructions for manufacturing or producing a dangerous drug

Magistrate Dakin adjourned the matter for case conference mention at Lismore Local Court on October 22.