Man told police he had cannabis in bedrooom

Twenty-four-year-old Paul McMullan, from Bracken Ridge Avenue, admitted possessing cannabis, valued £100, on December 3 last.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan deferred sentence until June 25 to give McMullan the opportunity to contact his GP, Community Addiction and Narcotics Anonymous to avail of any help they may be able to offer him to get him off drugs.

Mr Ranaghan noted that the defendant had eight previous convictions for similar offences.

He warned McMullan that if he breached the deferral over the next four months he would have no other way to deal with him other than by imposing a custodial sentence.

Defence counsel Noel Dillon said the defendant has “ongoing issues” with cannabis.

He pointed out that he is also in breach of a suspended sentence.

Mr Dillon explained that the defendant had been involved in an accident some years ago which left him with a very serious leg injury.

He said at the time the defendant started using cannabis to relieve pain.

Mr Dillon pleaded with the court to give McMullan a final opportunity.

“He does realise that he has issues with cannabis and that he is in breach of a suspended sentence,” he continued. “He is in a very difficult position but I would ask the court to give him a final opportunity.”

Editor’s message:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.