A TRANSGENDER woman from Pembroke Dock appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Jan 19) to plead guilty to possessing 38g of cannabis.
Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that the 29-year-old was in breach of a conditional discharge.
Officers attended at an address in Monkton on December 19 in possession of a search warrant. The defendant opened the door of the property and was asked if there were any drugs in the property. She handed over a small amount of cannabis.
The defendant was asked if there were any more drugs in the property and was warned that the police had a search dog. She handed over two more lumps of cannabis.
Police searched the property for more drugs with a sniffer dog, but no more drugs were found. However, a set of scales, cash, cling film and snap bags were seized. There was no evidence that the defendant was going to sell the cannabis.
Defending his client, Aled Owen said that the defendant was currently going through a process of gender reassignment. The lawyer said that this made her vulnerable in society and she felt that everybody was talking about her.
Suffering from anxiety and depression due to her situation, the defendant started smoking cannabis as a therapeutic drug after she found the side effects of prescribed medication unbearable.
Mr Owen said that the offending behaviour would likely stop, as the defendant has attended her first appointment with a specialist and is taking steps to transition.
Magistrates fined the defendant £73 and ordered that she paid £85 in prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
The conditional discharge was allowed to run its course and a destruction order was made for the drugs.
Add Comment