Drug certificate is enough, says Magistrate

Even though the marijuana samples which were to be tendered into evidence have yet to be found, Chief Magistrate Sonya Young found that the certificate of an analyst was enough to prove that the drugs had indeed been tested.{{more}}

SEARCHLIGHT reported on December 11, 2009, that Sergeant Foster Scott of the Narcotics Division opened a sealed envelope of what was supposed to be samples of marijuana tested in Barbados at the Drug testing facility. However, the package was empty.

Magistrate Young, at the time, said it was the first time such a thing had happened and she requested a copy of the drug-testing certificate to establish whether the drug samples had indeed been tested, in the case involving Norton Lavia and Rudolph Ashton.

On Wednesday this week at the Serious Offences Court, Young found Lavia, 20, of Clare Valley and Ashton, of Lowmans Leeward, guilty of possession of 31,780 grams of cannabis on November 15, at Clare Valley Mountains.

Lewis was slapped with a $25,000 fine to be paid in full in eight months or he faces 18 months in jail. Ashton was not so lucky. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Young pointed out that exhibit did not have to be present in court and that she was going on the strength of the analyst’s certificate. “It’s the certificate that is important here. I couldn’t just look at the exhibit and determine it was ganja,” Young stated.

She further pointed out that the report of the analyst indicated that the samples were tested and revealed cannabis content. Magistrate Young also said that the analyst found a quantity of vegetable matter when the sealed envelope was delivered to her. Young also noted that the analyst returned the envelope with the seal intact.

Arguing Ashton’s case, veteran Lawyer Arthur Williams contended that analyst said she returned the package with all seals intact. “This is a question of evidence…the analyst examined what she examined, put it back in the envelope and sent it back, but nothing was in it,” Williams said.

Prosecutor Inspector Nigel Butcher submitted that the certificate from the analyst in Barbados was more than proof that the drugs had been tested. “Once the certificate is there, then its admissible,” Butcher stated.(KW)