A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to 3 years 6 months imprisonment by the Labasa High Court for cultivating marijuana.
On 22 June 2010, Sevanaia Bati was caught cultivating marijuana at Natuvu Settlement in Cakaudrove after a police raid.
Altogether 71 marijuana plants were uprooted from the farm.
The plants were between 27 cm and 129 cm in height and weighed 4kg.
During the raid, the police also discovered 274.8 grams of dried leaves. Tests confirmed that the plants and the dried leaves were marijuana.
Bati pleaded guilty to the offense.
In his sentence, Justice Daniel Goundar said that he was a matured man who made a conscious decision to cultivate marijuana for sale.
Justice Goundar said people who cultivate marijuana for profit have little concern regarding the effects of this drug on the users or the society.
The Judge considered in his sentence that the remand period in this case is 6 months and 5 days.
Justice Goundar also gave some concession for the fact that the case took 8 years to conclude.
A non‑parole period of 2 years has been set.
