Being on house arrest wasn’t enough to stop one Riverina man after a search warrant revealed he was up to no good.
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Graham Jeffrey Wade, 53, was serving an eight-month sentence when police found an unregistered shotgun, rifle and a cannabis plant at his home.
Solicitor Morgan Jones, who represented the Hay man, told the court his client was using cannabis for medical reasons after a serious workplace injury involving a tractor and his leg in 2010.
“He takes Panadeine Forte but when the pain becomes excruciating he uses the marijuana to self-medicate,” he said.
“He has been unable to work and is suffering with ongoing issues associated with that.”
Magistrate Brian Van Zuylen told Wade he was not a doctor and should not be using cannabis for personal use.
“Why should you know better than a practising doctor and self-medicate rather than consulting?” he said.
Mr Jones said the death of Wade’s parents in 2010 had also resulted in him turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
“There appears to be a lack of insight and an abuse of trust to orders given by the court, but his difficult time in custody has given him some insight,” Mr Jones said.
According to documents tendered to the court, Wade immediately led police out the back of his property when they arrived, stating he knew why they were there.
He then dug out one of the firearms from underneath a layer of clothes on top of his bed and retrieved the other from his bedroom’s corner.
Mr Jones told the court his client didn’t hand in the weapons out of fear of being charged and was simply looking after the firearms for a former neighbour who had never returned.
“He didn’t know what to do with them,” Mr Jones said.
“He has an interest in game hunting and was reading a magazine and comparing them (when they were found out of the box).”
Wade pleaded guilty to all seven charges – including cultivating and possessing marijuana, a home-made bong and a cannabis leaf.
He was also guilty of possessing and not keeping an unregistered double-barrel shotgun and an unregistered .22 calibre rifle safely.
“It is a fundamental requirement in home detention that you comply with the law, which means not having those firearms,” Mr Van Zuylen said. Wade was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months.