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There have been a growing number of those charged with Cultivate Prohibited Plant, with the abundance of “indoor cannabis houses” in Sydney, and Australia wide.

These charges can be considered as very serious in NSW, depending on the number of plants cultivated, and the means (enhanced indoor or outdoor) by which the cannabis was cultivated.

Your options

Plead not guilty

In order to be convicted of this offence, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

  1. You cultivated, or knowingly took part in the cultivation of;
  2. A prohibited plant.

Where the quantity of the prohibited plant is a commercial quantity and/or cultivated for a commercial purpose then the quantity of the prohibited plant and/or purpose for which it is cultivated become additional elements the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt.

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

Our experienced criminal lawyers will advise you of your prospects of successfully defending any charge brought against you and fight to have you found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition as well as meaning that you will be entitled to a discount on your sentence. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

The offence of Cultivate prohibited plant carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $220,000.00 and/or 10 years imprisonment. However, penalties for this offence vary greatly depending on the quantity of the prohibited plant.

It is also important to note that where the quantity of a prohibited plant is a commercial quantity or a large commercial quantity, or where the quantity is more than a small quantity and less than a commercial quantity but the prohibited plants are cultivated for a commercial purpose, the penalties for this type of offence greatly. We advise that you contact one of our solicitors immediately if you are charged with this offence.

Generally, penalties that a court can impose for any criminal offence in NSW are:

Our client was charged with cultivating a prohibited plant, namely 30 cannabis plants. This charge carries severe penalties and one could expect to receive a term of imprisonment if the cultivating was for commercial purposes.

Our client instructed us that the cultivating was for personal use to treat his insomnia.

During sentencing our solicitor submitted that the affidavit evidence from our client and his partner along with medical evidence that our client was suffering from insomnia indicated that the cultivation was for personal use rather than for profit.

Campbelltown Local Court Magistrate Guy accepted this evidence and agreed with our solicitor that this offence could be dealt with by way of a section 9 good behaviour bond.

Our client was charged with cultivate a prohibited Plant. It was alleged that our client was growing cannabis plants inside his home. Our client has been previously convicted of the same charge and was given a term of imprisonment which was suspended. Our client instructed us that the cultivate was for personal use rather than for supply.

The matter proceeded for sentence at Fairfield Local Court. It was submitted that our client was cultivating for personal use and that there was no evidence to indicate otherwise.

This was supported through medical evidence which was tendered which indicate that our client was suffering from a number of mental health issues. We also tendered evidence that our client had engaged in drug counseling and treatment.

It was submitted that a good behavior bond would adequately address the objective criminality of the offence but also address our clients subjective matters. The court agreed and placed our client on a section 9 bond for two years to be of good behavior

Our client is a 50-year-old male. He was charged with multiple offences that
carry significant terms of imprisonment. The offences ranged from
trafficking, possession, cultivate and use a drug of dependence, namely Cannabis. He was also charged with dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.

The local Police had seized almost 1 kg of cannabis at our client’s place of residence. Our client was facing the prospects of a lengthy term of imprisonment.

Our legal team comprised of an experienced barrister in drug matters and an experienced solicitor. Both worked vigorously to negotiate the facts with the prosecution and to prepare the best case for the client. Subjective materials including reference letters, psychologist report, medical reports and a sworn statement were prepared to assist the client’s case.

Submissions were made regarding the client’s long-term substance abuse of cannabis due to a permanent injury sustained as a young adult. Medical documents and a psychologist report were tendered to highlight to the sentencing Magistrate the extent of the client’s addiction.

The client also voluntarily admitted himself into a rehabilitation facility to assist him with his addiction problems. He is continuing with this rehabilitation center.

The sentencing Magistrate at Mildura magistrates court took into consideration our client’s remorse, good prospects of rehabilitation and his extensive medical conditions. The Prosecutor made submissions and was asking for full time custody. The Magistrate accepted our submissions and did not impose a full time jail sentence.

The sentencing Magistrate convicted our client of three of the five
offences. For the offences of trafficking, cultivate a drug of dependence, and dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime, our client was given a Community Corrections Order for a period of 12 months. Conditions of the order require the client to complete of 200 hours of unpaid community work in 12 months; undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse or dependence; and undergo medical assessment and treatment as directed.

The sentencing Magistrate found the offences of possession and use of a drug of dependence proven, but exercised his discretion and did not impose a conviction.

The client had expected full time jail, but was ecstatic to have avoided full
time jail. This was an amazing result given the amount of drugs seized and the scale of the trafficking not being minor.