Huon Valley retired prison guard sentenced for trafficking in cannabis

A retired prison guard was growing and selling cannabis to pay off a debt, a court has heard.

Cannabis. Picture: AP PHOTO/RICHARD VOGEL

A RETIRED prison guard, who owed a friend money and was struggling to make ends meet on a pension, grew and sold cannabis to pay his debt, a court has heard.

Huon Valley man Karl Woisetschlager, 70, this week pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Hobart to trafficking in cannabis between July 2018 and April this year, and to a charge of unlawfully importing cannabis seeds.

Chief Justice Alan Blow said the operation was “on quite a significant scale” and the cannabis product found by police at Woisetschlager’s home in April was estimated to have a street value of more than $50,000, based on the assumption it would all be sold by the ounce. Chief Justice Blow said Woisetschlager was mailed the seeds from Europe. He said the $31,000 Woisetschlager received from cannabis sales between July and December last year was spent on set-up costs and paying off his debt.

“It’s clear that you won’t be doing anything like this again,” Chief Justice Blow said.

Woisetschlager’s barrister Todd Kovacic said it was the friend whom his client owed money to who suggested Woisetschlager sell cannabis to pay off his debt.

Chief Justice Blow said he took into account Woisetschlager’s age and health, and sentenced him to eight months’ jail, wholly suspended for 18 months. He also ordered to pay $2750, the cost of analysis of the drugs.