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Boss dobs in backpacker for smoking joint at hotel

An American backpacker working at the Queenslander Hotel in Gympie was smoking cannabis when his manager called the police.

Joseph Deandre Jackson, 26, was dobbed in to police for smoking cannabis by his manager on May 31, 2021.
Joseph Deandre Jackson, 26, was dobbed in to police for smoking cannabis by his manager on May 31, 2021.

A 26-year-old American backpacker and former employee of the Queenslander Hotel was given a three month good behaviour bond by the Gympie court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to having pot in his hotel room.

Joseph Deandre Jackson needed to be briefed on Australian legal practices by Magistrate Chris Callaghan, before he ultimately pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, a brass pipe and a metal hand grinder.

The court heard Jackson was smoking cannabis in an upstairs room at the Mary Street hotel when his manager called police.

Police prosecutor Michael Phillips said Jackson admitted to smoking a joint half an hour earlier, and was found with a brass pipe and a silver grinder in his possession.

Jackson was not an Australian citizen, and had been in the country on a working visa since 2020, which expires on June 14, the court heard.

“I’ve been doing backpacking, fruit picking and I was currently working at the Queenslander,” he said.

He leaves for California on June 6.

Due to his limited time left in the country, Mr Callaghan placed Jackson on a three month good behaviour bond of $200 and a conviction was not recorded.

Originally published as Boss dobs in backpacker for smoking joint at hotel

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/queensland/gympie/boss-dobs-in-backpacker-for-smoking-joint-at-hotel/news-story/599cecb214fff139ebe23cf5d6516995