The Case

The defendant had pleaded guilty to cultivation of cannabis, a Class C drug, contrary to s6 of the . The court held that there was force in the defendant's submission that it had been Parliament's intention that simple possession should be regarded less seriously than cases involving supply, and that that should be reflected in sentences of cultivation of cannabis where it was clear that personal use alone was intended. Given the vast range of culpability that s6 of the Act covered, the widening of the gap in sentencing between those cases where supply was an object and those were it was not, reflected, in fact, what Parliament had sought to achieve through increased penalties for offences involving supply. In order to reflect that principle, and the matters particular to the instant case, the proper sentence would be one of six months' imprisonment. The sentence of 12months would be quashed and substituted by that period.