A first-time cultivator of cannabis unexpectedly grew £5,000 of the Class B drug at his home so he could smoke it every day.
The police discovered green-fingered Tomas Kaubrys’s “excessive” crop yield when they arrived at the dwelling to investigate a missing person.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that Kaubrys, 39, was new to growing cannabis and had not realised so much would be produced for his personal use.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin said Kaubrys was caught at his address on the city’s Marchburn Road shortly after midnight on October 19 2021.
“One of the officers entered one of the upstairs bedrooms and observed a tent containing 11 large plant pots filled with soil.”
Offender described the cannabis cultivation as his indoor ‘garden’
Ms Martin added: “Inside the pots, small juvenile plants could be seen. Also within the tent were lights, plant feed, extract tubing and a small fan.
“Within the same bedroom were a number of glass jars containing green herbal substance. The officer spoke to the accused who described this as his ‘garden’.”
The police also found further small quantities of cannabis and equipment for growing.
Kaubrys was arrested and, during an interview, admitted to producing cannabis for his own consumption.
In total, 660.39g of cannabis was recovered with a value of £5,200.
Four additional cannabis plants that had not yet reached maturity, but would potentially be worth up to £3,240 if they did, were also recovered.
Kaubrys, of Marchburn Road, Aberdeen, pled guilty to producing cannabis.
‘On reflection, over 600g is excessive for his own use’
Defence agent Caitlin Pirie said her client, a father-of-two and mechanical engineer, started smoking cannabis aged just 16 after “getting involved with the wrong crowd”.
She went on: “This continued to escalate and, at the time of the offence, he was a heavy cannabis user and was smoking daily.
“The Crown has accepted this was for personal use.”
Ms Pirie explained the cannabis found in jars had been Kaubrys’ first grow, adding: “He didn’t know what quantity or quality to expect for the first grow.
“Now, on reflection, he appreciates over 600g is a large amount and excessive for his own use. This is due to a lack of knowledge.
“He advises it was of very poor quality and the majority would not have been consumed.”
Ms Pirie also said the values given by the Crown were maximum potential figures and suggested realistic figures would be significantly lower.
Sheriff Andrew Miller fined Kaubrys £640.
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