Man who bought and supplied cannabis to aid ailing father sentenced in Whanganui District Court

Judge Philip Crayton said drug dealing leads to people going to prison all the time but Stuart Mcleod's case had an exception. Photo / File

A man bought cannabis, divided it up, sold some of it to recover his money and gave the excess to his terminally ill father.

Stuart Joseph John Mcleod appeared in Whanganui District Court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge of supplying cannabis.

Lawyer Mark McGhie said it was a small scale operation Mcleod was running and it was not for a commercial purpose.

"As the summary says, Mr Mcleod sold a small amount of cannabis," McGhie said.

"He's living with his father and other members of the family. His father's terminally ill.

"His father is smoking cannabis for pain relief. Mr Mcleod here himself is on a sickness benefit for other issues."

Between April 1 and a date in August, Mcleod bought two or three ounces of cannabis which he then sold to various customers.

He pocketed the money made from his sales to cover his initial purchase and gave the remainder to his ailing father.

Judge Philip Crayton said that at 28 years old, Mcleod was facing challenging circumstances, not only with his father's health but with his own health.

"I take on board the basis in which you engaged in this activity, but you should be very clear, drug dealing, whatever the class of the drug, leads to people going to prison all the time," Judge Crayton said.

"However, every case has its exception and this is one of them. I think you probably would benefit, and as a result we will all benefit, if you are given some assistance and some support."

Judge Crayton sentenced Mcleod to 12 months' supervision.