Hawick construction worker told police he had 14g a day cannabis habit after being caught with 790g of Class B drug
Last updated 7th Nov 2023
A Hawick man caught with two bags of cannabis each weighing 395 grams has been told he's "extremely lucky" the Crown accepted a charge of possession and not supply, which could have left him facing a custodial sentence.
Jedburgh Sheriff Court today (Tuesday) heard Mark Cummings told police he smoked 14 grams of the Class B drug a day, after officers raided his home in the town's Hugh McLeod Place on December 22nd last year.
The 37-year-old construction worker was also found with 21 grams of cannabis and a CS spray cannister during a search four months earlier.
His solicitor, Stuart Carson, said Cummings had smoked the drug since his teenage years and described December's incident as "a wake-up call", saying he stopped (taking) the drug after that.
He added his client had also secured weekend work with Network Rail, which has a policy of random drug testing.
In relation to the CS spray cannister found during a search of his home on August 19th last year, Mr Carson said Cummings had been given it a number of years ago, put it away and forgot about it.
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Cummings admitted possession of a prohibited weapon, as well as possession of the Class B drug, shortly before his case was due to go to trial, and Sheriff Peter Paterson fined him a total of £940.
His co-accused - 35-year-old Pamela Cummings - had her not guilty pleas accepted by the Crown.
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