Mum jailed for helping gang grow cannabis
MOTHER-OF-ONE Sharon Hughes has been jailed for two years and eight months after she helped produce cannabis worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The 40-year-old had the loft at her home in Millstone Avenue, Butt Lane, converted into a cannabis factory in March this year.
Prosecutor Heather Chamberlin told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday that the operation was discovered after a police officer visited the house on March 31 this year and smelled the drugs.
A search was carried out at the house the next day. Police found 10 plants and a hydroponic set-up including lamps and a heater.
They also noticed the electricity supply had been bypassed.
The plants would have produced a yield of between 593 grams and 1,097 grams, with a value of between £3,380 and £6,260.
Hughes, who has a 10-year-old son, told police she was a heavy cannabis user and the habit cost her about £100 a week.
She said she allowed two men to set up the system in her house to reduce the amount she had to spend buying the drug. She admitted receiving some of the drugs for being the "gardener" and expected to receive a small financial reward.
On September 7, while on bail for that crime, Hughes was caught red-handed watering cannabis plants in a prefabricated building at HDS industrial yard in Chesterton.
Police found 103 cannabis plants in the building and when they entered Hughes was wearing gloves and watering the plants with a hose pipe. The crop had a potential yield of 13.6 kilograms with a valuation, if sold in ounces, of between £47,000 and £67,000. If sold in kilograms the value was estimated at between £27,000 and £47,000. And if sold in grams it was put at about £68,000.
Hughes, who has a previous conviction for possessing ecstasy with intent to supply, for which she received a suspended sentence in 1999, pleaded guilty to two charges of producing cannabis.
Paul Cliff, mitigating, said in both cases Hughes was acting as a gardener.
He said: "She had built up a significant amount of debt to the people providing her. She was smoking far too much. One of the ways to reduce the debt was to agree to assist with the production of it by acting as a gardener."
Mr Cliff said Hughes accepted she would receive a prison sentence and had arranged for her son to live with her sister.
Judge Paul Glenn said: "The first of these offences involved you providing a safe haven for the production of cannabis in your loft.
"You got involved again, on a far greater scale. It really was a factory in Chesterton. The set-up showed hallmarks of professionals.
"You now claim you were doing it to pay off a drug debt. But you prioritised your own needs over the welfare of your son. You knew the consequences if you were caught, and you chose to continue to abuse cannabis and get involved in its growth."
Hughes will serve up to half the sentence, with the rest completed on licence. A proceeds of crime hearing will be held in the week beginning on March 15.
10 Comments
by PVFC, NEWCASTLE
Wednesday, December 02 2009, 2:52PM
“scientits "say" that the tobbacco that you add in the joint causes more harm than the weed. not that im saying its ok. it would be made legal if the goverment could tax it.”
by ST, Stoke
Wednesday, December 02 2009, 8:34AM
“Voice of reason, well argued point. Ignore Andy, Sandbach - he resorts to sarcasm when he is losing an arguement. Obviously cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis should be classified the same... either all legal or all illegal. Ive not heard a view on here that stacks up against this. Andy (rightly) makes the points about mental issues and addiction of cannabis, however, this is exactly the same as alcohol. Smoking cannabis is physically harmful to the lungs (due to the "legal"tobacco it is often smoked with) just as alcohol damages the liver. In a nutshell, the logical way to deal with cannabis (as it'll NEVER go away) is to decriminalise it, tax it, educate people about it and concentrate efforts on fighting hard drugs and real crime.... and no... I dont smoke it. Just a normal tax paying person using common sense.”
by Con, Stoke-On-Trent
Wednesday, December 02 2009, 8:04AM
“wa a fukin joke...im gutted 4 the girl...nevermind,,,see u soon shaza...x”
by voice of reason??, Stokie oop north
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 6:50PM
“I didnt say "drugs are ok" in fact here ya go, KIDS, ALL DRUGS ARE BAD DONT DO IT,
goodness or badness has nothing at all to do with their legality, (obviously otherwise booze and fags would be illegal)
NOPE its time the people of this country woke up and smelt the coffee, decaf of course, and began to realise that it has far more to do with ensuring that the "kids" grow up to spend their cash on the 'right' drug, ya know, the one that is shoved in our faces every time we turn on the tv, especially at this time of year, the one that earns millions in revenue for the "pushers"
I would prefer it if our kids were educated from an early about the dangers of ALL drug abuse, and not fed distortions and exaggerations as they are now,
I would like to see ALL recreational drugs legalised and their sale strictly controled and monitored, and thereby the quality could be controled to prevent the unscrupulous criminal gangs from contaminating it with poisons (a major cause of drug related deaths)
this would apply to ALL drugs even the ones that are now legal,
Drugs are here to stay they are a part of societywe can choose to be in some control, or continue to chase our own tail forever.”
by Andy, Sandbach
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 5:44PM
“Lets legalise it.....lets send a message to our kids that drugs are ok.....lets ignore the known psychological issues caused by cannibis use and lets use the old cliche of alcohol and cigerettes.............”
by S Claws, UK
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 4:10PM
“Sorry for the spelling mistakes, too many mince pies and low alcohol wine me thinks......”
by S Claws, UK
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 4:02PM
“Voice of reason has a valid point, alcolhol kills thousands of geople every year, as does cigarette smoking, yet something that has never killed anyone hets this reaction. She's in prison costing taxpayers alot of money, yet someon whol kills innocent passengers in a car or another vehicle gets a lesser sentence, then taught a trade whilst in prison??? Seems to me this kind of crime gets rewarded. She could be employed as a proper gardener to pay for her crime, whilst getting parenting classes. This country is bonkers there are no values, crime seems to pay and the innocent are the ones who pay the price!”
by ST, Stoke
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 3:56PM
“Its a prohibition that doesnt work. And when the Governments scientific and health experts point out the truth.. they get sacked! We need to go the way of Spain, Portugal, Holland, Denmark and Italy and decriminalise.”
by voice of reason?, Stokie in geordie land
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 2:10PM
“leagalise it, collect taxes, create employment, hurt the 'gangsters', controlled outlets, free up huge amounts of police time to tackle 'real' crime,
there can be NO excuse for the most lethal recreational drug known to man being legal, (alcohol) and a drug that has never directly killed anyone and that is impossible to overdose on, being illegal,
madness sheer madness.”
by Marion, Stoke
Tuesday, December 01 2009, 1:36PM
“You silly silly girl. All you had to say was "no". Why didn't you and your poor son. Just think of the aggravation he will get in school now when children read about you did. You silly silly girl.”