Suspended sentence for man who grew cannabis to relieve MS condition

By Francis Carroll, The Drogheda Independent

A 42-year-old man who grew cannabis at home in order to extract oil from the plants to self-medicate his multiple sclerosis condition has received a suspended sentence.

Przemyslaw Brenda, Rockfield Court, Hoey’s Lane, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to a cultivation charge after Gardaí found a tent in the corner of a room containing mature cannabis plants.

Also located were bags of the drug and while the overall value was given as €150,000, a Garda involved in the investigation said that it was difficult to evaluate the haul. A lot of the drugs were of poor quality and some saturated which would have increased the weight.

An analysis carried out for the defence put its worth at €600.

At an adjourned sentence hearing Judge Dara Hayes said that the defendant had a significant quantity of cannabis. It wasn’t always in that poor quality state.

A probation report assessed him at low risk of reoffending. He was confined to bed most of the day.

A two-year sentence was suspended for two years.

Previously, the judge said that Mr Brenda had obviously a significant debilitating condition but the law was that possession of any kind of cannabis was illegal.

Det Gda Gerard Blaine testified that at 5pm on February 21, 2022, Gardaí searched the house.

They saw a tent in the corner of a room near a window. It contained mature cannabis plants.

The rest of the property was searched and officers found a digital weighing scale, a 4kg bag of cannabis, a 3kg bag and various smaller amounts.

Mr Brenda, who had little English, co-operated with the investigation. He said he was making oil to self medicate a deteriorating condition. On occasion he gave drugs to friends.

He has one previous conviction from 2014 for Section 3 possession of cannabis, and had not come to Garda attention since the incident in question.

A Polish national, he got the diagnosis in 2019 and ceased working as a carpenter. He had been on disability since.

Judge Hayes said that one line of a probation report suggesting that the defendant continued to use cannabis was of some concern.

Counsel said he instructed that he was not using cannabis now.

Judge Hayes said this was not a case where the defendant was directly engaged in criminal behaviour. There was significant mitigation.