Judge Roberts deals to bumper crop of cannabis growers

Cannabis harvest time has resulted in a large crop of alleged drug criminals in the Hawera District Court yesterday.

Judge Allan Roberts commented on the number of cannabis cases before him.

Police prosecutor Steve Michael responded saying it was peak harvesting time and police were especially focused on it.

He said there were not only people charged with cultivation and possession but also those who had allowed others to grow on their property or smoke cannabis at their homes.

Karl Parker, 47, from Patea was remanded until May 12 on charges of possessing and cultivating cannabis.

Judge Roberts told the court Parker had five prior convictions for cultivation and final warnings. Parker replied: "That was ages ago."

Judge Roberts said: "Like you, I'm still around and time doesn't really erode these sorts of things."

Parker was warned to organise his life while on bail because he was likely to be imprisoned on his return to court.

Michael Davy, 45, from Auroa, allowed cannabis to be grown outside his bedroom window because of "misguided loyalty" to his son who had a cannabis addiction, the court heard.

Davy pleaded guilty to having 14 plants growing on his rural property on Skeet Rd. He denied that he smoked the drug himself.

The judge sentenced Davy to 75 hours of community work.

Ruka Holden, 27, from Patea, was sentenced to 100 hours of community work for growing 22 cannabis plants. On February 19 police were looking for a relative of Holden and found nine plants 1.5m tall and 13 plants 500mm in height.

Michael Furze, 43, from Opunake appeared on a charge of knowingly allowing his house to be used for the purpose of cannabis consumption.

On March 10 police executed a search warrant of Furze's home in relation to drugs and found utensils for smoking cannabis in his sons' two bedrooms.

They also found 12gms of cannabis leaf and items used to consume methamphetamine.

Furze admitted to police he occasionally used cannabis and knew his sons smoked it in the house. He denied knowing of the cannabis and the methamphetamine items that were found.

Furze was sentenced to 40 hours' community work.

Paul Edwards, a 56-year-old invalid beneficiary from Hawera, appeared at the court on charges of possessing utensils for smoking cannabis. On March 4 police were looking for a person who frequented Edwards' house when they saw two plants on the lounge windowsill, 40cm tall.

Police then found six spotting knives in the gas heater, a spotting spoon and two paper pipes. Further search found two plants 60cm tall at the rear of the property. Edwards was sentenced to 50 hours' community work.

- © Fairfax NZ News