£ 30,000 of plants and marijuana harvested at Port home

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A CANNABIS grower who was caught with over £ 30,000 worth of plants and harvested marijuana from his Port Glasgow home had everything for his personal use.

Arthur Rooney, 62, cultivated the drug to deal with aches and pains, Greenock Sheriff Court was told.

Rooney – who was jailed 15 years ago for what has been described as a “significant” cannabis offense – was caught with 48 plants in four “grow areas” upstairs from his house on Oronsay Avenue in February of last year.

Prosecutor Abbas Ali told the court: “The police also observed a lot of equipment for the production of cannabis.

“The accused was taken to the Greenock Police Station and made several confessions about it.”

Police drug experts have estimated the transport of the plants to be between £ 200 and £ 600 each.

Rooney also had 470 grams of harvested marijuana which had a potential value of £ 2,200.

Defense attorney Gerry Keenan said: “Mr. Rooney’s position is, as stated in the core report, that the crop was intended entirely for personal use.

“His point of view is that you can never be sure of the quality of street drugs, so he chose to cultivate his own.

“The report also states that Mr. Rooney does not express any remorse and that he feels he has done nothing wrong.

“As far as his health is concerned, he has muscle aches which he believes are the result of not using cannabis anymore.

“He pulled over on the day of his arrest, and it suggests an acknowledgment and acceptance on his part that what he did was illegal.”

Mr. Keenan added, “He accepts that his previous conviction makes this case more serious.

“He has health problems and recognizes that he needs to fix them in other ways, and he intends to do it.”

Sheriff David Hall told Rooney: “This is serious business and the attitude you have shown towards the whole matter is cause for concern.

“You have a significant previous conviction, although it is about 15 years old, and you received a significant punishment, so clearly you haven’t learned your lesson.

“I’ve taken everything into account, and you’ve been fine for 15 years.

“I am ready to handle this as an alternative to custody.”

Rooney has been placed under surveillance for a year and must perform 180 hours of unpaid work within that time instead of jail.

He also received an electronic tagging order to stay home between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day for six months.

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