Enough cannabis for `48 years' Brothers plead guilty to $700,

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Enough cannabis for `48 years' Brothers plead guilty to $700,000 drug charge

BY RACHEL WILLIAMS

2/10/2008 12:00:00 AM

The Examiner

http://northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au/n...ge/1323053.aspx

 

TWO Nabowla brothers have pleaded guilty to a series of drug-related charges after they were found with enough cannabis to last them a lifetime.

 

Craig Andrew Bennett, 42 and Wayne Rex Bennett, 52, both pleaded guilty in the Launceston Supreme Court yesterday to charges including trafficking, cultivating, possession and using a controlled substance.

 

The men admitted to growing more than $700,000 worth of cannabis on their co-owned bush property in the State's North-East.

 

Crown Prosecutor Virginia Jones said that when the Northern Drug Investigation service arrived at Craig Bennett's house in March, they found 75 mature cannabis plants in five separate compounds as well as 2kg of harvested plant material.

 

The product had potential street value of between $150,000 and $300,000.

 

While Craig Bennett admitted to selling 20 ounces of cannabis and giving some to friends, he said the rest was for his own personal use.

 

"The accused said he smoked two rollies a day, so there was enough there for 48 years of smoking," Ms Jones said.

 

Crown Prosecutor John Ransom said that police found 115 mature plants with a street value of more than $360,000 as well as more than $40,000 worth of loose harvested cannabis belonging to Wayne Bennett.

 

"He claimed it was for his personal use over the next five years," Mr Ransom said.

 

Defence lawyer Adrian Hall said Craig Bennett was self employed as a builder- labourer and if he was incarcerated his wife and two young children would struggle to survive financially.

 

Mr Hall said that while Craig Bennett had been smoking the drug for 20 years, the use of the drug since 2002 was for pain associated with a work-related back injury.

 

Mr Hall said that Wayne Bennett smoked up to 10 joints a day for pain relief after a 1987 accident where he fell 11m off a roof - fracturing his skull, pelvis and both arms as well as sustaining a lower back injury and the loss of the use of his left eye.

 

Mr Hall said that while there was no evidence Wayne Bennett had sold any cannabis, he said that it was clear it wasn't all for his own use.

 

The men were remanded in custody and will be sentenced by Chief Justice Ewan Crawford at 4pm today.