Court dismisses dope grower's appeal

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a jailed cannabis grower who argued that he was being illegally held at Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt.

Kenneth Christopher Morgan, who is serving a three-year term, had argued that the current Sentencing Act gave him the right to the "lesser penalty" in place at the time of the offence - conditional release after two years.

However, it is now up to the Parole Board to order an early release.

The Supreme Court said in a 4-1 majority judgment that the "penalty" in the act referred to the maximum that could be imposed.