Man fined for possession of cannabis

Tuesday 29 June 2021

A 47-year-old man has been fined £900 after being found with cannabis and two synthetic cannabinoids.

Michael Louis Ogier was found asleep in a pub toilet and taken to the police HQ on 12 December. While in custody he was searched and 0.25 grams of cannabis was found in a Vaseline pot, alongside a vape pen.

After further analysis the vape pen was found to contain a mixture of two synthetic cannabinoids totalling 1.25 grams.

At the time of his arrest, Ogier had a suspended sentence hanging over his head for attempting to smuggle 48 grams of tobacco into Les Nicolles.

His Defence Advocate, Sam Steel, argued that Ogier uses cannabis for his arthritis. “He uses this for self-medication and is now being assessed for medicinal cannabis online,” said Advocate Steel.

Judge Gary Perry said Ogier's attempts to obtain cannabis legally proves there are avenues that could’ve been explored before breaking the law.

“There’s no dispute that medicinal cannabis can be anti-inflammatory, and there are legal avenues to obtain it, but people persistently seek to breach the law,” he said.

Ogier’s suspended sentence will remain in place, but has not been activated. He was fined a total of £900 for the cannabis and cannabinoids.