Wolverhampton man jailed over £80,000 cannabis stash
A man who was caught growing cannabis in his house worth up to £80,000 has been jailed.
Andrew Edwards, aged 51, was rumbled with the stash at his home in Wolverhampton Road, Bilston.
Edwards pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a Class B drug after he was arrested following a search warrant.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Edwards had a total of 83 plants in different rooms of the house, as well as lighting and ventilation gear.
Prosecutor Mr Ian Ball said: "A warrant was executed to search the premises by police on July 29.
"A number of police officers attended and found 83 plants in total. There was also ventilation and lighting and electricity was being extracted, though it wasn't the most sophisticated set up. A great effort must still have taken place to set it up though.
"If the plants had all grown fully and harvested, they could potentially yielded £80,000 worth of cannabis.
"Andrew Edwards accepts responsibility.
"When interviewed by police, he told them that it had all been set up in November last year.
"He is a heavy daily user who spent up to £200 per week on cannabis."
Defence barrister Mr Colin McCarraher said Edwards was a BT engineer before a car accident that broke two vertebrae in his neck forced him into early retirement.
He insisted Edwards used cannabis for medicinal purposes before his habit spiralled out of control.
He said: "The weight of his head is significant to him, he has to lie down for a lot of the day to relieve the pain.
"There is no suggestion that he was involved in any kind of big drugs ring. He is a 50-year-old man who finds himself here with no previous convictions. That should show that he has led a good life.
"For him, the only way he could find pain relief was through the constant smoking of skunk.
"He was not comfortable going out and buying cannabis from people in the street, so he started growing it, and it spiralled out of control.
"I wouldn't have thought he was some kind of Mr Big."
Judge James Burbidge said: "You had amassed a significant growth of cannabis. You were a heavy daily user. You cannot avoid custody as this is such a serious offence."
Edwards was jailed for two years.
