Cops poised to seize dealer's house as 'tainted property'

A man convicted of growing cannabis will fight any bid to take his home off him in the first instance of a new law being applied in this way.

Police found more than 2kg of dried cannabis in the Picton home of sickness beneficiary Gary Tittleton, 63.

When he came before the Blenheim District Court this week, he admitted cultivating cannabis and possessing it for supply.

Police have filed an application for a restraining order over Tittleton's property, under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009, which came into being on December 1.

"This relates to property used to commit or facilitate the commissioning of a qualifying offence," a police spokesman told the Weekend Herald.

"I can also confirm that it is the first proceeding of this kind to be taken under the new legislation."

A judge can order the house be forfeited when Tittleton is sentenced in February. The new Criminal Proceeds law allows police to begin the process of seeking seizure of homes, vehicles and other items of value they believe are linked to crimes.

But it has raised the question of how far the state should go in punishing a person, when Tittleton is also facing the usual penalties for his crimes.

The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws argues cannabis use is now widely tolerated by society, and severe penalties such as taking a person's home seem "completely out of proportion".

Tittleton's lawyer, Gary Sawyer, told the Weekend Herald that if police did pursue seizure of the home, there would be many legal arguments mounted to oppose it.

"They still have to satisfy the court that it's in the interests of justice."

Police also had to prove the house was "tainted property", meaning it was acquired through the commission of a crime.

"And this is a house that was purchased 12 years ago, freehold, at a point where there were no convictions for any of that sort of activity."

Mr Sawyer said there were health issues in the case that were still to come to light.