Waterford District Court recently heard a case involving an ‘introvert’ man who was found with €2,000 worth of cannabis in his house by Gardaí.
Matthew Walsh (38) of 28 The Glen, Waterford, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at a sitting of Waterford District Court earlier this month, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a controlled drug (namely cannabis) for personal use and for sale and/or supply, contrary to Sections 3 and 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977 which arose after Gardaí searched his house in 2023.
Sergeant Michael Hickey told the court that on 25 August, 2023, Gardaí executed a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act at the accused’s house.
Sgt Hickey said the accused was present on the day and retrieved a bag of cannabis to the value of €2,000 and handed it to Gardaí. He was later arrested and brought to Waterford Garda Station.
The Sergeant added that the accused was co-operative with Gardaí, has no other pending matters before the courts and has six previous convictions, which include a drug possession matter.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that his client was using the substance as ‘self-medication’ for anxiety, and believed that it was not cannabis.
The solicitor told the court that his client said to investigating Garda members that he “couldn’t dispute” the quantity of what was found, but told them that he hoped it wasn’t cannabis.
Mr Cunningham added that his client had bought the substance from a retail enterprise, and had not engaged in a ‘street-deal.’ He also told the court that even if the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in the substance was below the legal limit, the current consensus in Irish law is that if a substance “smells like it and looks like it” then it’s cannabis. THC is the main psychoactive element found in cannabis.
Mr Cunningham concluded by saying that the accused is an ‘introvert’ who “keeps himself to himself”, and has underlying mental health issues, and has come to no adverse Garda attention since this incident, which was almost three years ago.
Judge Staunton said that he didn’t know if he accepted “everything related to the accused’s doubt over the substance” and that the accused was “not a novice for drug use.”
The judge added that the amount found was a “haul of monetary value” and for that reason, the court has to treat it as a serious matter.
Judge Staunton handed the accused a six month prison sentence for the Section 15 charge, which will be fully suspended for 12 months, due to the fact that the accused came to no Garda attention in the interim period. The Section 3 charge was taken into consideration.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
