William Wilson guilty of supplying cannabis
A Dubbo man who sold “tenners and 50s” of marijuana says he only did it to help pay for his own cannabis habit which he developed to relieve scoliosis pain.
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A Dubbo man who has had a 42-year cannabis habit has been advised by a magistrate to consider getting a script for legal medicinal cannabis instead of possessing and selling the drug illegally.
William Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a prohibited drug and one count of supplying the same drug when he faced Dubbo Local Court.
According to court documents, a member of the public contacted police to report that the 61-year-old disability pensioner was selling drugs from his home in South Dubbo.
When police went to Wilson’s front door on July 2, officers said his home reeked of cannabis and he immediately confessed to the drug crimes.
Wilson took police to a coffee table in his lounge room and picked up a resealable bag.
He later pointed to a red container which had pieces of foil in it.
“I just did them up this morning,” Wilson told police according to court documents.
Earlier the same day, Wilson said he purchased an ounce of cannabis, however he refused to say who his supplier was or how much he paid.
When police asked if Wilson was selling drugs he said “yes I do, I do tenners and 50s”.
A total of 37.4 grams of cannabis was found in Wilson’s home, along with $860 in cash.
In court, Wilson’s lawyer Jacky Dougan-Jones said her client suffered from severe scoliosis and could not stand up for long.
“He’s been using cannabis as a pain reliever since he was 17 years- ld,” Ms Dougan-Jones said.
The court heard Wilson had been convicted of the same drug offence in 2018 and funded his personal cannabis use by selling the drug to others.
Magistrate Gary Wilson suggested the offender consider exploring options to access legal medicinal cannabis.
“That’d save you being arrested, breaking the law and you wouldn’t have to sell the drugs to support your need,” Magistrate Wilson said.
“This is the second round of the same charges for you.
“There’s so many drugs in this community, we don’t need people out there actively making it worse by way of selling, even if it is to support your need that’s no excuse whatsoever.
Wilson was convicted of both offences and placed on two 12-month community corrections orders.
Outside court when asked what he thought of the verdict and if he’d consider medicinal cannabis, Wilson said he just wanted to “go home and have a cone”.