A 28-year-old Castlebar man was ordered to pay €150 to Down Syndrome, Ireland after he was found in possession of one cannabis plant he was growing in a wardrobe in his home. Garda William Grant told Castlebar District Court that on the basis of confidential information he received, he obtained a search warrant and searched the home of Mark Jones, 50 Lakeview, Castlebar, on September 7 2010. After carrying out the search he found one cannabis plant with a value of €100 and cannabis valued at €3.27 in the house. Garda Grant told the court that the cannabis was for Jones’s own use and he co-operated with the search throughout.
Tom Walsh, solicitor for Jones told the court that his client was a 28-year-old single man with two children and was currently on jobseekers allowance after completing a back to education scheme, but he was not able to find any employment. He said his client was growing the cannabis for his own use and the plant had not even got into the budding stage and was only in the early stages of development. He asked the judge to give his client a chance. Judge Devins gave Jones the benefit of the probation act and ordered him to pay €150 to Down Syndrome Ireland, by June 1.
