It's my medicine says drug house woman

[boulder]

Darwin's first drug house has been named _ flat 28, Tomaris Ct in Smith St, Darwin.

 

Drug squad officer-in-charge Les Martin attached the green notice declaring the unit to be a drug house to the door of the housing commission unit yesterday.

 

Margot Laughton, 54, who occupies the unit, had been served the required three notices after police raided the unit on September 21, November 13 and December 5, seizing 453.5g of cannabis.

 

An application was made to the courts on December 17 to have the unit declared a drug house.

 

Ms Laughton had until close of business on New Year's Eve to appeal. She did not.

 

Ms Laughton, who has lived in the flat for seven years, was yesterday served an eviction order by Territory Housing. She has 14 days to leave the premises.

 

Ms Laughton said last night she would fight the eviction order and the declaration of her home as a drug house, claiming the cannabis was all for personal medicinal use.

 

``It's my chosen choice of medication,'' she said.

 

``I had that amount of cannabis because I smoke about four or five joints a day and on a disability pension I can't afford the $25 a day that I would need for it, so I buy in bulk because it's cheaper.''

 

Ms Laughton did admit to the Northern Territory News that she had in the past given cannabis to friends who needed it for medical reasons and had also swapped the drugs for artwork.

 

Superintendent Ken Grant said police had ``clear evidence'' of dealing going on in the premises and said the 453.5g was excessive for personal use.

 

Twenty-four premises in Darwin have now been served with one or more drug premises notices. Supt Grant said police had also seized more than 2kg of cannabis and 8.3g of amphetamine from suspected drug premises.

 

He said there were no applications before the court to declare any other houses. But would not rule out the possibility of more in the future.

 

``It's really dependent on the activities that go on at these premises,'' he said.

 

Northern Territory News