Pye Bridge Industrial Estate cannabis man committed to Derby Crown Court for sentence
A man set up a cannabis factory that could have raked in more than £16,000 in street deals, a court was told.
Self-employed Paul Hogg (56) used three rooms in his work premises on Pye Bridge industrial estate, near Alfreton, to grow 42 plants.
He told Chesterfield magistrates he had a heart condition and claimed a hospital doctor had told him unofficially that ‘smoking weed’ would help him relax.
Helen Griffiths, prosecuting, said Hogg had bought ‘skunk’ cannabis seeds off the internet and spent £200 at Castle Donnington market on timer-controlled lamps to boost their growth.
He took cuttings from the first batch of plants and put them in tea bags for nourishment before potting them.
“He said he didn’t think it would be successful but it was and plants were already bearing immature flowering tops.
He said it had ‘all got a bit much’ but he had no intention to sell cannabis. He had a heart condition and maintained a doctor had recommended cannabis to him,” said Mrs Griffiths.
“Police say that in three or four months there could have been enough to produce 8,000 cannabis cigarettes.
The plants were capable of providing regular crops as it seemed they would flow one after another,” added Mrs Griffiths.
Hogg, of Minster Gardens, Newthorpe, admitted producing cannabis on 10th May.He told the court: “I wasn’t growing it to sell to anyone. I was growing it for myself. The main artery to my heart goes into spasms and causes unstable angina.
“I have never used cannabis in my life. I had pains in my chest and a doctor said: ‘I shouldn’t tell you this but the way to chill out at nights is to smoke a bit of weed’.”
Hogg said he had been under stress. He had an autistic son and a step-daughter with problems and “one thing after another had just got on top of me”.
He added: “It was where I work. It’s my unit - I’m self-employed. It just got totally out of hand and I regret it very much.”
The bench committed him for sentence at Derby Crown Court on 28th September.
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Wednesday 22 May 2013
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