Dad smoked drugs to escape his memories

David Bowater, of Odesa Drive, lost a three-year-old son to meningitis 10 years ago.

Bowater and a friend, Daniel Gee (32), of Cale Road, Colwick, pleaded guilty to possessing a quantity of cannabis with intent to supply the class B drug.

David Miles (prosecuting) said the men were stopped in Gee’s car by police on the A610 at Eastwood at about 8.05 pm on Friday 22nd February.

“There was a strong smell of cannabis in the vehicle and when officers searched it, they found several bags of the drug, worth just over £1,300,” said Mr Miles.

Michaela Dunk (defending) said the facts were not disputed, but that Bowater and Gee intended only to supply friends with the cannabis.

“It was a very small amount of the drug and described by the police as of extremely poor quality -- more like dry leaves,” said Miss Dunk.

She revealed Bowater’s family tragedy and said he and his partner had just had their third child, who had been in hospital suffering from bronchitis since birth.

“When he starts smoking cannabis, he uses it as a coping mechanism,” she added.

Miss Dunk said Gee, a self-employed bricklayer, used cannabis for a similar reason and told the court his father had died only five days before the offence.

A father of two children, he had lost his grandmother too three weeks ago.

District Judge Leo Pyle said: “This was a large quantity of drugs, and you are both mature men in your 30s.”

After reading probation reports on the men, Mr Pyle sentenced them to a community order of 12 months, during which time they must each carry out 60 hours’ unpaid work. They were also told to pay court costs of £85 each and a victim surcharge of £60 each.