Community service for man sent Class A drug as ‘freebie’

Saturday 05 June 2021

A 32-year-old who received a ‘freebie’ that contained a Class A drug when he ordered cannabis online has been sentenced to 120 hours’ of community service.

Daniel Richard Johnson appeared in the Royal Court on Friday. He had candidly admitted importing 54g of herbal cannabis and 70 ml of ‘THC syrup’ in November 2020, hidden in a nappy sent to his address in a padded envelope which had been intercepted by Customs officers at Postal Headquarters.

In an interview, he confirmed that he had ordered the cannabis online, which he used as a painkiller for arthritis and to cope with anxiety caused by difficult family circumstances.

He had not ordered the small bottle of grape-flavoured THC syrup, he said, which must have been given as a ‘freebie’ by the website he had used.

Due to the liquid’s low value, Customs officers concluded that it could have conceivably been given as a free sample. They also accepted that the cannabis was only for Johnson’s personal use.

Advocate Sam Brown, prosecuting, said that this was an “unsophisticated, non-commercial importation for personal use” and recommended 120 hours’ of community service.

Unusually, this sentence was endorsed by Johnson’s defence lawyer, Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, who said: “He made a very selfish and stupid decision which he deeply regrets. He would like to apologise to the Court and Customs for his shameful actions.

“He fully accepts this was wrong and he is paying a very high price.”

Advocate Dix added that Johnson was now receiving prescribed cannabis every month under the Medicann programme.

Also agreeing with the Crown’s proposed sentence, Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Rozanne Thomas and Robert Christensen, said that the Court was confident that he would not commit these crimes again.