Courts / Dublin / Report

Army Corporal who bought cannabis to ease pain of his dying wife avoids criminal conviction

Date
2015-07-27

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Rathfarnham

County
Dublin

Summary

Corporal Damian Flood, 39, was arrested on 15 March 2013 near Nutgrove, Dublin, with €9,814 worth of cannabis herb. He initially claimed the drugs were to pay a €40,000 debt but later explained he had purchased them after researching that juiced cannabis could relieve pain. Flood said he intended to use the substance to ease the suffering of his wife, who was terminally ill with breast cancer and died about five months later. He pleaded guilty to possessing the drug for sale or supply, apologized, and described the act as a moment of madness. Judge Mary Ellen Ring, considering Flood's long service, financial pressure and good character, applied the Probation Act instead of imprisonment, resulting in no conviction being recorded. The case highlighted Flood's three‑year‑old retirement plan and the potential financial impact of a prison sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Army Corporal who bought cannabis to ease pain of his dying wife avoids criminal conviction. Charges or matters: possessing the drug for sale or supply. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

March 15 2013 Other
2015-07-27 Publication

Why: Flood said he initially lied to the gardaí that he was moving the drugs to pay off a debt because he didn't want to implicate his dying wife in his arrest. CNI source report