A BALLYMUN resident, who said he started using cannabis to deal with pain following a serious head injury, has received a six-year sentence with the final 2½ years suspended for drugs possession.
Wayne Stout told gardaí he had a €2,500 debt from his €200- a-week cannabis habit and was forced to store drugs for dealers.
Stout (21), Knowth Court, Poppintree, but from the UK, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing €38,140 worth of heroin and €2,177 of crack cocaine under his brother’s bed at his Ballymun home on March 3rd, 2009. He has no previous convictions.
Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, told Judge Desmond Hogan his client had once smashed his head against a wall. He said Stout afterwards got severe headaches, which he alleviated by smoking cannabis.
Det Garda Niall Darcy told Fergal Foley, prosecuting, that he called to Stout’s home and found the cache under a bed.
Judge Hogan accepted Stout did not know the type or quantity of drugs in his possession but said a custodial sentence was warranted.