Stubbs resident claims he uses marijuana for medicinal purposes

A resident of Stubbs has been advised to find an alternative for the marijuana he claims he has been using for a cold.

Chief magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias gave Keith Francois this advice when he appeared before her at the Serious Offences Court on July 21.{{more}}

Francois had been charged with cultivation of one mature cannabis tree.

The court heard that on July 21, a narcotics party, headed by Sgt Robinson, was executing a search warrant at the home of Francois at 6 a.m., when PC Adams observed a marijuana plant, at least six feet tall, growing in the garden.

When cautioned by police, Francois told officers the plant burst and he just left it to grow.

He, however, defended his actions in court, telling the chief magistrate that he uses the marijuana daily to “take the cold off [his] chest.”

Browne-Matthias fined him $150 and advised him to go to a pharmacy, because the fact that he has to boil the plant every day means that it is not working.(AS)