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A man who argued he shouldn't be presumed a drug dealer because he had 900g of cannabis in his possession has lost his appeal in the Supreme Court.
Paul Rodney Hansen, 51, and another man were found at Hansen's Glenorchy, Queenstown, home in May 2003 stripping cannabis plants into buckets. The cannabis weighed 1.8kg.
Hansen admitted he owned half the drugs but said it was his annual supply. He told police he did not want to buy the drug from undesirable people so he grew it himself.
He was convicted of possessing cannabis for supply in March 2005 and sentenced to 2 1/2 years' jail.
If he had been convicted of possessing cannabis for personal use, the maximum punishment would have been a three-month jail sentence.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, anyone caught with more than 28g of cannabis is presumed to be selling the drug, and the burden is on the offender to prove otherwise.
Hansen's lawyer argued that putting the burden of proof on the accused was inconsistent with his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, under the Bill of Rights Act.
The Supreme Court judges unanimously dismissed Hansen's appeal.
Justice Peter Blanchard said no one familiar with life in New Zealand would dispute that illegal drugs caused "grave social ills" and users were "stimulated to criminal activity under their mind-altering and addictive effects".
- NZPA
