Darwin horticulturist busted growing ‘the worst and sickest cannabis crop’ Territory police had ever seen avoids jail time

A Darwin horticulturist busted growing ‘the worst and sickest cannabis crop’ Territory police had ever seen has avoided jail for cultivating the ‘small and sickly’ plants.

Cannabis plants seized in a raid on the Girraween home of Darwin council horticulturist Darren James Smith in November 2019. Picture: NT Courts

A DARWIN horticulturist busted growing “the worst and sickest cannabis crop” Territory police had ever seen has avoided jail for cultivating the “small and sickly” plants.

Darren James Smith, 49, pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court to cultivating a trafficable quantity of the drug and possessing less than a trafficable quantity following a police raid on his Rural Area house in November last year.

Prosecutor Luke McLaughlin said Smith had grown up to 16 medium sized plants and seedlings after planting the seeds in his yard.

Mr McLaughlin said when police questioned Smith about one of the plants in his front yard, he told officers “I moved it there because it was in poor heath”.

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In arguing for the offending to be dealt with by way of a suspended sentence or a fine, Smith’s lawyer Peter Maley said the “scrawny” plantation was “the worst cannabis crop I’ve seen in my time as a legal practitioner”.

”He is the worst cultivator of cannabis that has come before this court,” he said.

“Even the police said it was the worst and sickest cannabis crop they had ever seen.”

Mr Maley said despite the fact Smith was a professional arborist the illicit plants were “very small, very sick” and “even the larger plants have got a tinge of yellow”.

Cannabis plants seized in the police raid on Smith’s home. Picture: NT Courts

Mr Maley said his client had “been smoking cannabis on and off for most of his adult life” but had now been clean for the first time for the past six weeks.

“It’s a very low level, underwhelming cannabis plantation,” he said.

”He has genuinely taken steps to bring his cannabis use to an end.”

In not taking issue with Mr Maley’s submissions, Mr McLaughlin said while Smith had previously been fined for cannabis possession in 2015, the subject of the current charge “wasn’t the most robust of fields”.

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In handing Smith a 12-month good behaviour bond and $1200 fine, judge Alan Woodcock agreed the “underwhelming” crop consisted of “small and sickly” plants and that “particular circumstances” had been made out.

“This is very low tech,” he said.

“There’s absolutely no suggestion of supply or commerciality.”

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Mr Woodcock convicted Smith on both counts and ordered him to pay $300 in victims levies but spared him any jail time, saying “it would not be appropriate at all to imprison you for these offences”.