There’s plentiful news surrounding the continued harsh penalties around cannabis, or ongoing incarceration of those with cannabis convictions. In the wake of it all, one Irish apprentice electrician, who was busted after growing his own cannabis to make oil for his terminally ill mother and began dealing to his friends, was met with some mercy.
According to a Sunday World report, Cianán Mimna’s sentence was suspended in court, and Judge Martina Baxter said his “heart was in the right place” when he began growing the plant for medicine to assist his mother Paula. Paula was terminally ill with a brain tumor, though Mimna also used the cannabis himself and started dealing it within his social circles.
Gardai, the state police force of the Irish Republic, raided his home on February 18, 2020 and found cannabis valued at €10,062, roughly $10,654 USD. Mimna ultimately took full responsibility for the cannabis found in the home and fully cooperated with gardai. The police force also found cannabis oil on his mother’s bedside table; she told officers that she asked son to provide the cannabis, as it was assisting her with therapeutic pain relief.
According to Trim Circuit Court, Mimna’s mother died in May 2020, just a few months following the raid. The court also heard that Mimna was consistently taking urine analyses to prove he wasn’t using cannabis any longer and was working to “rehabilitate” since the raid occurred.
Judge Baxter did say that, as an illegal substance, Mimna’s growth of cannabis and other comparable offenses have an “egregious effect on society,” regardless of whether or not it has dangerous or adverse effects on certain consumers. Baxter added, “He’s an educated young man with the support of his family. No doubt his heart was in the right place as he was [sourcing] it for his mother.”
Judge Baxter also said that 29-year-old Mimna is a young man who “clearly knew what he was about,” citing his honesty in disclosing to gardai that he was growing cannabis for his mother and also using it himself, even though there was also “clear evidence” he was selling cannabis too.
Phone evidence showed Mimna was selling cannabis, according to Baxter, though Mimna also readily admitted he was doing so.
“He told gardai while he himself used cannabis he was [also] forthcoming about selling it,” Baxter said. “It was therapeutic for his mother but he was also benefiting from using and abusing it and selling it to friends. Unfortunately, his mother has since passed away and hasn’t seen him rehabilitated.”
Professionals including counselors and probation services, who dealt with Mimna since his arrest, were handed into the court and all referenced Mimna in a positive manner. Mimna’s family and girlfriend were also there to support him, along with his boss for his electrician apprenticeship, for which he has one year left. Mimna had no previous convictions.
Judge Baxter said she believed Mimna’s remorse was genuine, as he recognized “the road he went down was wrong,” and took his early guilty plea and full cooperation with gardi into account. Baxter sentenced Mimna to two-and-a-half years in prison but suspended it for a period of three years.
In Ireland, cannabis is illegal for recreational use and cannot be sold. Though the government is relatively tough on prosecuting offenders, the country is a bit more lenient in regard to CBD and medical cannabis, which are both legal. Ireland is also involved in the industrial hemp industry and increasingly taking advantage of the economic opportunities it can provide.
Any sale of controlled drugs in Ireland can be punished with a fine up to €2,500, along with a possible prison sentence of up to a year. For larger quantities of cannabis sales, penalties jump significantly, as severe as life imprisonment. The minimum sentence for selling cannabis with market value of €13,000 or higher is 10 years.
